Harri, Rose and the Philosopher's Stone
by silverquill96
Summary: Harriet and Rosalie never thought of themselves as special. That was until the letters arrived. Now they're going to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. But what's all this about them being the "Boy who lived" and why does everyone think that they're one person, and a boy? And what secret is the Headmaster trying to hide? Twinfic with a difference. Girl!Harry.
1. The Vanishing Glass

**A/N - First story so please be nice. Less than three.**

**DISCLAIMER: Look at the web address. Says FANFICTION doesn't it? Good, that means I don't own Harry Potter. JK ROWLING does. Not me. If it had of been me, well let's just say I would have let Voldie win, among other things.**

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Chapter 1 – The Vanishing Glass

Rosalie Potter sat up sharply at the sound of her aunt's shrill voice at the door. She would have gotten used to it by now but still Aunt Petunia shrieks grated on her eardrums like every morning.

"Up! Get up!"

"We're getting up!" Rosalie shot back. The ten year old sighed and glanced over at her twin.

Like Rose, Harri was small and skinny, with messy black hair and both had vibrant, green eyes. In fact the twins were identical in almost every way, right down to the lightning bolt shaped scars on their foreheads.

One of the first things the twins ever asked was how they got those scars.

"In the car crash your parents died in. And don't ask questions!" Aunt Petunia had replied.

Don't ask questions. Rule number one in Surviving the Dursleys 101.

Harriet yawned and sat up too, rubbing the back of her head. She'd been dreaming about flying motorcycles again.

"Are you up yet?" their aunt was back at the door.

"Nearly" Harri answered tiredly.

"Well hurry up then, I want every to be perfect for Dudley's special day"

The twins groaned in unison. Dudley's birthday. How could they have forgotten?

"What was that?" Aunt Petunia asked sharply.

"Nothing, nothing" said Rose.

"Get up then and don't let the bacon burn!'

They heard Aunt Petunia make a huffing noise and footsteps fading away. Rose quickly searched around their shared mattress for clothes to wear while Harriet hunted for socks. Locating a pair, Harri brushed a spider off them and continued looking for a second pair. The twins were used to spiders as the cupboard under the stairs was full of them and that was where they slept.

Pulling on the most decent clothes they had, Rose and Harri made their way to the kitchen reluctantly. On the way they ignored the many photos of what Aunt Petunia called a baby angel and what Harri frequently referred to as a pig in a wig, in other words, their cousin Dudley.

Entering the kitchen, the walrus- er, Uncle Vernon barked, "Comb your hair!" over his newspaper by way of greeting. This was a normal occurrence as ever morning he would shout that the twins needed haircuts even though they had had more haircuts than their entire class put together.

_~Won't do anything~ _Harri thought sing song.

_~Cause nothing can tame our beautiful hair~ _Rose finished.

Something else that Harriet and Rosalie shared was a mental link. They figured it was one of the cool things that twins could do. While good at times, it meant there were no secrets between each other. This only made them even closer.

Harri and Rose noticed the huge pile of parcels wrapped in brightly coloured paper on and around the table that Dudley was already tearing into. They wondered briefly how many presents their cousin had managed to haul in this year. Not that it really mattered to them, the twins never got presents anyway.

Harri glumly took up the duty of stirring the bacon, her good mood vanishing as quickly as it came. Rose grabbed plates from the drawers and poured the juice.

Just as the girls sat down, Dudley, who had been counting his many gifts, said "There's only thirty six. That's two less than last year."

_~I'm surprised he can count that high~ _Rose nearly snorted at her sister's comment.

"But you missed that one from your Aunt Marge, Diddykins." Aunt Petunia quickly said trying to placate her son.

"Alright, thirty seven then" Dudley was starting to go red.

Rose and Harri immediately began scoffing their breakfast as fast as they could sense one of Dudley's famous tantrums coming on, as he would likely turn the table over.

"Well, we'll buy you two more presents today, how's that popkin?"

"So I'll have thirty- thirty"

"Thirty nine, sweetums"

"Oh" Dudley seemed to relax and went back to eating. Uncle Vernon just chuckled.

"Little tyke wants his money's worth" he said, "Atta boy Dudley!"

Dudley just burped loudly and said "I want more bacon"

_~Disgusting~_ Harri wrinkled her nose in agreement.

At that moment the phone rang with its familiar, annoying tune. Aunt Petunia went to pick it up.

The twins sat in silence while Uncle Vernon and Dudley continued eating like they hadn't even noticed the phone ringing.

When Aunt Petunia returned she seemed furious.

"That was Mrs. Figg, she said she'd broken her leg, so she can't take them." She snapped jerking her thumb at the girls.

_~I know we should feel bad about Mrs. Figg, but YES!~ _Harri said excitedly.

Mrs. Figg was their neighbour who had far too many cats and a house that smelt like cabbages.

_~Yeah, I wouldn't be able to bear seeing all those photos of Snowy, Tibbles, Mr. Paws and Tufty again.~ _Rose agreed.

"What about Marge?" Uncle Vernon asked.

"Don't be ridiculous, Vernon, she hates the girls."

"Well, what about you friend, what's her name, Yvonne?"

"Vacationing in Majorca."

"You could leave us here" Harriet piped up.

_~We might be able to do whatever we want for a change~_ Rose added mentally.

"And come home to find the house in ruins?" Aunt Petunia hissed at them.

"We won't blow the house up." Rose insisted. But the Dursleys weren't listening.

"We could leave them in the car..." Aunt Petunia suggested.

"The car's new; I'm not leaving them in it."

The Dursleys spoke of the twins like this often, as though they were something particularly nasty like a slug.

"I suppose we could bring them to the zoo with us..."

Dudley suddenly began giving huge, fake sobs and saying between gasps, "I d-don't want them too c-come – they always s-spoil everything!"

"Oh Diddykins, don't cry! Mummy won't let them ruin your special day!" Aunt Petunia cried flinging her arms around her son.

Dudley shot a nasty grin between his mother's bony arms at the twins. Rose and Harri just glared. Of course Dudley had stopped properly crying years ago but he had worked out that if he scrunched up his eyes and wailed loudly his parents would give him whatever he wanted.

Just then the doorbell rang.

"Oh, good lord, they're here!" Aunt Petunia said frantically and ran to get the door.

Dudley quickly stopped crying.

_~Of course, can't look like a baby in front of your friend, can you?~_ Rose growled.

Dudley's friend, Piers Polkiss, was a skinny boy with a face like a rat. He was usually the one who held the person's hands behind their back while Dudley hit them.

Half an hour later, the twin's couldn't believe their luck. The two of them were squeezed in next to Dudley and Piers in the back seat of the car on their way to the zoo.

Before they had left, Uncle Vernon had pulled the twins aside.

"Listen here girls, any funny business, anything at all, and you'll be locked in that cupboard from now until Christmas!" he hissed.

"We won't do anything." Rose insisted. But Uncle Vernon wasn't listening. No one ever listened to the twins.

As much as the twins tried to deny it, strange things _did_ happen around them. Like when Rose and Harri had been running from Dudley's gang and had somehow found themselves on top of the cafeteria's chimney. They had to bring home a letter from the headmistress about how they had been climbing school buildings. Rosalie tried to explain that they had just gone to jump behind a bin and they were just there. Harriet figured that the wind had caught them mid jump. They had gotten a week in their cupboard for that. Another time Aunt Petunia had been trying to force an old sweater of Dudley's onto Rose, a really horrible one; orange with puff balls. The more Aunt Petunia pushed, the smaller the sweater became until it was small enough to fit a puppet but certainly not Rose. Luckily, Aunt Petunia just assumed that it had shrunk in the wash and Rose wasn't punished.

Once, Aunt Petunia had been so fed up with the twins coming back from the hair dresser's looking like they hadn't been at all, she had taken a pair of kitchen shears and roughly cut almost all of the twins' hair off, except for their bangs, to "hide those nasty scars". Dudley had collapsed in laughter at the pair's horrid haircuts. The two of them spent all night in their cupboard panicking about the next day in school where the two girls were already laughed at for their baggy clothes which were actually hand me downs from Dudley. When Rose and Harri had woken up in the morning they had found that all of their hair had grown back exactly the way it was before. Aunt Petunia nearly had a fit over it.

But today everything was going to be perfect. Nothing was going to go wrong.

In the car Uncle Vernon liked to complain about things that included but were not limited to: Harriet, people at work, Rosalie, the neighbours, Harriet, people at the shops, Rosalie, and the twins. Today's subject was motorcycles.

"...tearing along like maniacs, the hoodlums." He said as one overtook them.

"I had a dream about a motorcycle," Harriet said suddenly, "it was flying."

Uncle Vernon slammed on the brakes and nearly crashed into the car in front.

_~...Oops~_

"MOTORCYCLES DON'T FLY!" He roared.

"I know they don't," Harri said meekly as Dudley and Piers snickered. "It was just a dream"

_~Well done~_

_~Shut up Rose~_

This was the usual reaction to the twins mentioning anything "abnormal". The Dursleys seemed to think that Harri and Rose would get dangerous ideas.

_~This isn't half bad actually~_ Harri thought as she and Rose shared a cheap lemon ice lolly and watched a gorilla, who looked remarkably like Dudley except it wasn't blonde, scratch its head. The only reason they had it was because the lady at the ice cream stand had asked if the twins wanted anything before the Dursleys could steer them away.

Lunch was alright too. Rose and Harri got to finish of Dudley's Knickerbocker Glory because he was complaining that there wasn't enough ice cream on the top so he was bought another one.

Later Harri and Rose realised they should have known it was all too good to last.

They reached the reptile house and Piers and Dudley wasted no time in trying to find huge man crushing pythons and deadly cobras.

The twins stayed good distance away from Dudley and Piers, just in case they got bored of the animals and fell back on their old habit of hitting Rose and Harri.

The girls caught to the Dudley and Piers to find the ogling at a huge boa constrictor in its tank. The animal was long enough to wrap itself around Uncle Vernon's car twice and strong enough to crush a garbage bin. Though it didn't seem to be doing much of that at the moment. In fact, it was sleeping.

"Make it move" Dudley ordered his father.

Uncle Vernon rapped on the glass smartly. The snake did not stir.

"Move!" Dudley yelled whacking his hand against the glass.

"He's asleep!" Harri snapped.

"He's boring." Dudley said and waddled away, Piers close behind him.

"Sorry about that." Rose told the snake needlessly. But Harri and Rose could sympathise with the snake. At least they were allowed to move around their house whereas the snake could not.

Suddenly the snake did something unexpected. It _winked_.

The twins quickly looked around to see if anyone was watching before Harri said in amazement "Can you hear us?"

The snake nodded and gave them a look that said _I get that all the time._

"I know," Rose murmured, "It must be awful."

The snake nodded vigorously.

"Where are you from, anyway?" Harri asked.

The snake jerked its head towards a metal sign that read:

_Boa Constrictor_

_Brazil_

"Was it nice there?" Rose asked then Harri added "Do you miss your family?"

It jerked its head at the sign again. The twins read further down.

_This specimen was bred in captivity_

"Oh, that's us too. We never knew our parents either." Harri said.

"DUDLEY! MR DURSLEY!" Piers yelled suddenly. "You won't believe what this snake is doing!"

"Out of the way you" Dudley growled as he waddled towards them. It might have been comical if it weren't for the fact that Dudley had punched Harri in the ribs causing her to collide with her sister making them both tumble to the hard concrete.

Suddenly Dudley and Piers leapt back from the tank with howls of horror. Rose and Harri sat up and gasped. The glass to the front of the tank had vanished and the great serpent was uncoiling itself to slide out of its enclosure.

It paused momentarily at the shell-shocked twins and they swore they heard a hissing voice say "_Thanksss amigosss. Brazil, here I come!" _

All the dumbfounded keeper could say was "But, the glass! Where did the glass go?" The zoo manager had fixed Aunt Petunia a cup of strong tea in his office.

By the time they all made it back to the car Dudley was saying how the snake almost bit his leg off and how it nearly crushed Piers. All the twins had seen was the snake snap playfully at people's heels though. Harri and Rose were about to relax that they hadn't been punished.

Then Piers had said, "Harriet and Rosalie were talking to the snake, weren't you guys?"

Harri and Rose gulped.

* * *

When they finally made it back to Number Four, all Uncle Vernon could say was "Cupboard, no meals" before he collapsed in his chair and Aunt Petunia ran to get him a large brandy.

Later in the darkness of their cupboard, the twins sat, not daring to go out to steal food from the kitchen. They did not know how late it was and wished they had a clock so they would know if the Dursleys had gone to bed yet.

This was the way their lives had been for nearly ten years. Harri and Rose used to hope that they had some other relative who would come and take them away from the Dursleys. The only reminder of there was their scars. Sometimes if they strained their memories they could see a green flash of light and feel a lot of pain on their foreheads. This, the twins supposed, was the car crash.

Harri and Rose eventually fell asleep, into dreams of flying motorbikes and green flashes.

* * *

**A/N So yeah, this is my first fic, so please, please be nice. And I KNOW that the "Harry has a twin sister" thing is used alot, BUT, this is different I promise! I took the idea of Harry being a girl as well and decided to mash them together. The storyline will stick as close as I can manage to canon, but it won't be word for word, promise. **

**Oh and I hope you got the joke. If you didn't, go watch AVPM and AVPS. Then you will understand.**

**Review please. Constructive criticism welcome. 3**


	2. The Letters from NoOne

**A/N Ok, so here's chapter 2. Oh yeah, and before I forget, the reason why I didn'y put in that snippet about people recognising the twins is they think that a) the wizarding world thinks they're one person and b) they also think that they're a boy. Just thought you'd like to know that.**

**DISCLAIMER: I never have or will own Harry Potter. No matter how much I wish I did. *goes to sob in the corner***

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Chapter 2 – The Letters from No-one

The escape of the Brazilian Boa Constrictor had earned the twins their longest standing punishment. By the time they were allowed out of their cupboard again, it was summer.

Summers were always something Harri and Rose both looked forward to and dreaded. They looked forward to them because they could wander the streets around Privet Drive. But they dreaded the summer as that was when Dudley's gang was also roaming the streets.

The boys in Dudley's gang were all big and stupid, so logically, as Dudley was the biggest and the stupidest, he was their leader. And all of those boys loved playing Dudley's favourite game: Cousin Catching.

The rules of the game were very simple. All you had to do was catch either Harri or Rose and beat them up as a group. Apparently they didn't have any qualms about hitting girls.

Dudley and Piers had both been accepted at Uncle Vernon's old private school, Smelting's. Harri and Rose however, were going to Stonewall High, something Dudley found hilarious.

"They stuff people's heads down the toilets at Stonewall." He said, "Want to come upstairs and practice?"

"No thanks," Rose said quickly.

"Yeah," Harri added, "The poor toilet's never had anything as horrible as your head in it, it might be sick."

The twins ran away giggling before Dudley could figure out what Harri said.

When Aunt Petunia took Dudley into London to buy his uniform, Harri and Rose were left with Mrs Figg. It turned out that the crazy old lady had broken her leg when she tripped on one of her cats. At least she wasn't as fond of them as before. She even let the twins watch some television and gave them some chocolate cake that tasted like she'd had it awhile.

That evening, Aunt Petunia made everyone watch mini fashion show of Dudley parading his new uniform. His uniform consisted of a maroon tailcoat, orange knickerbockers, flat straw hats called boaters and a knobbly stick for hitting people when the teachers had their backs turned. This was apparently, good training for later life.

Uncle Vernon said gruffly that it was the proudest day of his life and Aunt Petunia had burst into to tears saying her Duddy Diddykins was all grown up. The twins didn't trust themselves to make a sound, though they'd probably broken a couple of ribs from holding back laughter.

_~Oh my god, I can't take it!~ _Rose spluttered.

_~I think I'm gonna pee!~ _Harri was in near hysterics.

It probably didn't help that the twins' emotions were doubled through their link. So that just made it twice as hard not to laugh.

The next morning, Harri and Rose got up to find a foul odour coming from the kitchen. They entered and discover the horrid smell was from a tub of grey liquid with what looked like clothes in it.

"What's that supposed to be?" Rose asked. Aunt Petunia pursed her lips and looked at her with her _how dare you defy rule Number one_ face.

"Your new uniforms." She replied curtly.

"Huh," Harri said, "I didn't realise it had to be so wet."

_~And smelly~_ Rose added.

"Don't be stupid!" their Aunt snapped. "I'm just dyeing some of Dudley's old things for you two. They'll look exactly like everyone else's."

_~Yeah, and we'll be known as the elephants at school~_ Harri said miserably as she sat down, grabbing some toast.

_~Thanks soooo much Aunt Petunia~_ Rose grumbled, joining her sister.

Not long after, Dudley and Uncle Vernon came in, noses wrinkled at the smell of the twins' uniforms. Their uncle sat down and unfolded his newspaper while Dudley swung his Smelting's stick around.

After a few brief moments of silence, the mail slot clicked.

"Dudley, get the mail"

_~Wait, what?~_

_~Okay, that's different. I never thought I'd ever hear Uncle Vernon actually ask Dudley to do something~_ Rose commented.

"Make Harriet get it."

"Get the mail, Harriet."

_~So much for that~_ "Make Dudley get it."

"Poke her with your Smelting's stick, Dudley."

Harri sighed, dodged the stick and went into the hallway.

Rose sat in the uncomfortable silence for a short while before Harri suddenly said _~Rose, have a look at this~_

Rose blinked and looked through Harri's eyes. She disregarded the bills and the postcard that Harri was holding completely. She only saw the other letter her sister was holding. The envelope read:

_Miss H. Potter_

_The Cupboard under the Stairs_

_4 Privet Drive_

_Little Whinging_

_Surrey_

_~There's another one just like it for you too~ _Harri said numbly.

_~But who would write to us?~_ Rose asked in shock.

Harri turned over the envelope to reveal a purple wax seal bearing a lion, a badger, an eagle and a snake around a large letter H.

_~This just keeps getting stranger and stranger~_ Harri nodded in agreement.

"Hurry up girl!" Uncle Vernon suddenly yelled making both girls jump. "What are you doing, checking for bombs?" As he chuckled at his "hilarious" joke, Rose hurriedly pulled out of her sister's mind as Harri returned to the kitchen.

They had to be more careful when they did that, people would probably notice if one of the twins' faces suddenly went through a whirlwind of expressions and the other completely blank. Although Harri and Rose were getting better at it, it still took a great deal of effort to keep a straight face when they looked into each other's thoughts.

Harri passed Uncle Vernon the bills and the postcard and sat back down next to me. She handed Rose a letter almost identical to hers except it said _Miss R. Potter_. They wasted no time in opening their letters.

"Marge is ill," Uncle Vernon announced, reading the postcard. "Ate a funning whelk"

"Dad, Harriet and Rosalie have something!" Dudley suddenly shouted as the twins were unfolding their letters.

"Hey!" Rose yelled at the same time Harri shouted "That's mine!" as the parchment was ripped from their hands.

"Who'd be writing to you brats?" Uncle Vernon sneered as he shook one of the letters open. His face changed from red to green to a grey porridge colour in a few seconds.

"P-P-P-Petunia!" he gasped, lifting the letters high so Dudley couldn't reach them. Aunt petunia took the letters and gave an overly dramatic gasp.

"Vernon! Oh, Vernon!" she said, sinking to the floor.

_~Really? I mean, ok there might be something of interest in those letters but isn't that reaction just a bit over the top?~_

_~Yeah, and they think we're the weirdos~_ Harri snorted.

Dudley, who was not used to, nor liked, being ignored, rapped his father over the head sharply with his stick and demanded "I want to read those letters."

"Actually, we should read them, as they're ours." Harri said furiously.

"Get out, all three of you." Uncle Vernon managed to croak out, stuffing the letters back into their envelopes.

"WE WAN'T OUR LETTERS!" the twins shouted in unison.

"Let me see them!" Dudley commanded.

"Out!" Uncle Vernon roared grabbing Dudley and Rose by the scruff while Aunt Petunia got Harri by her hair and threw all three of them out into the hallway.

There was a brief but furious tussle over who would get to listen at the keyhole. Naturally, Dudley won, so the twins crouched down to floor and listened at the bottom of the door.

"Vernon, how could they possibly know where the girls sleep?" Aunt Petunia said in a shaking voice. "You think they're watching us?"

"Watching us – may be spying on us," Uncle Vernon muttered and the twins watched his black shoes pace up and down the kitchen.

"Vernon, maybe we should write back and tell them that we don't want -"

"No, we'll ignore them! If they don't get a reply…yes, that's best…"

"Vernon –"

"I'm not having two of them here, Petunia! Didn't we swear when we took them in that we'd beat it out of them?"

Well that was new information to Harri and Rose. Two of what exactly?

Later that day, Uncle Vernon did something he'd never done before. He visited the twins in their cupboard.

Uncle Vernon could only fit his head in the tiny space. He attempted to get the rest of himself through but thought better of it.

"Where are our letters?" Harri asked immediately.

"They were addressed to you by mistake." He replied bluntly. "I have burned them."

"It wasn't a mistake! They had our cupboard on them!" Rose yelled furiously.

"SILENCE!" A couple of spiders fell from the roof of the cupboard.

Uncle Vernon took a deep breath and forced his face into a painful looking smile.

"Er, yes," He started. "about this cupboard. Your aunt and I think you two a getting a little too big for it. We feel it's time for you to move into Dudley's second bedroom."

Harri and Rose glared at their Uncle suspiciously. There had to be something else to this.

Number 4 had four bedrooms: one for Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia, a guest room, Dudley's room and another room which Dudley kept all his possessions in that didn't fit his own room.

It only took one trip for the twins to move everything they owned upstairs. They laid on the single bed together listening to Dudley's tantrum downstairs.

"I don't want them in there- I need that room! Make them get out!"

"Yesterday, I would of given anything for this room." Harri sighed.

"I know, now I'd rather have our letters in our cupboard instead of having the room." Rose agreed.

The twins spent the rest of the night reading Dudley's untouched books together. It didn't really distract them from the lost letters like they'd hoped, though.

When the mail arrived the next day, Dudley was made to go get it. Still in a bad mood from yesterday, he could heard banging things with his stick.

"There's another two!" he yelled. "_Miss H. Potter, The Littlest Bedroom_"

With a strangled sounded cry, Uncle Vernon flung himself with surprising speed into the hallway with Harri and Rose close behind. He had to wrestle all three children at the same time for the letters. It ended up Dudley on the floor, Harri clinging to his neck and Rose around his waist. He pried the twins off with little trouble.

"Go to your cupboard- I mean room, girls." He wheezed. "Dudley- just go"

"Some one knows we've been moved!" Rose hissed as she shut the door behind them.

"That means they'll probably try again!" Harri added. "I've got an idea..."

The girls fixed the alarm clock together and set the time. It rang at exactly six o'clock in the morning and, quickly turning it off, Harri and Rose both slipped downstairs, careful to miss the bottom step which creaked.

They'd nearly made it to the door when-

"AAARRRRGH!"

Both girls jumped back in shock and the lights flicked on. Harri had trodden on Uncle Vernon's face. Apparently, he'd known they were going to sneak downstairs and get the letters before anyone else did.

He spent a good while yelling at the twins before they were told to go make him a cup of tea.

When breakfast was ready, Uncle Vernon came into the kitchen with six envelopes with purple seals. But before either of the twins could say anything, he tore them up.

Uncle Vernon stayed home from work that day. He boarded up the mail slot instead.

"If they can't deliver them, they'll give up." He explained to Aunt Petunia through a mouthful of nails.

"I'm not sure if that will work, Vernon-"

"These people's minds work in strange ways, Petunia, they're nothing like you or me." He said as he tried to nock in a nail with a slice of fruitcake. The twins looked on from the landing above.

On Friday, twelve letters arrived through the bottoms and sides of the front and back doors. Some even came through the downstairs bathroom window.

Uncle Vernon took another day off work and nailed up the front and back doors. He hummed 'Tiptoe Through the Tulips' and jumped at tiny sounds as Harri and Rose watched him from their place on the banister of the stairs, eyes wide.

Things got really bad by the next day. Twenty four letters were found rolled up inside each of the two dozen eggs that the poor milkman had to hand through the living room window to Aunt Petunia. While Uncle Vernon made a few furious calls to the dairy, Aunt Petunia shredded the letters in the blender.

"Who on Earth wants to talk to you two so badly?" Dudley asked the twins in astonishment.

"I wish we knew." Harri said.

On Sunday, Uncle Vernon looked tired and a little ill but inexplicably happy.

"Fine day, Sunday." He said cheerily, spreading marmalade on his newspaper. "In my opinion, best day of the week. Do you why?"

"Because there's no post on Sunday's?" Rose gingerly asked.

"Right you are!" He said happily. "No blasted letters today. No sir."

_~Yep, he's lost it~_

_~You're only working that out now?~ _Harri asked incredulously.

At that moment something whizzed down the chimney and hit Uncle Vernon in the back of the head making him slash his finger on his butter knife and swear. Then, there were letters flying around everywhere and the twins leapt instinctually into the air, trying to catch one.

"Out!" Uncle Vernon yelled.

Everyone was forced from the room before either Harri or Rose could grab a letter.

"That does it," Uncle Vernon said pulling out great chunks of his moustache "I want you all to go upstairs, pack some clothes and meet back here in five minutes! No longer!"

* * *

Ten minutes later, they were speeding along the highway. Dudley was sniffling because his father had belted him around the head for holding them up as he'd tried to pack his VCR, computer and TV into his sports bag.

Every now and then, Uncle Vernon would suddenly make a sharp turn or double back, muttering "Shake em off, shake em off"

By nightfall, Dudley was howling. He'd never gone so long without eating or blowing up an alien on his computer, he'd missed five TV shows he'd wanted to see, making this the worst day of his life.

Harri and Rose just sat curled together on their side the car.

_~I never thought I'd say this but I want to go home~_ Rose whispered.

_~Me too~ _Harri answered sadly.

They stopped at last at a dimly lit hotel and Uncle Vernon booked two rooms. He and Aunt Petunia slept in one and Dudley, Harri and Rose slept in the other. Well, Dudley slept but the twins sat on the windowsill, staring at the lights outside.

At breakfast, which consisted of stale cornflakes and cold tinned tomatoes on toast, the hotel's manager came up to the family, looking confused.

"'Scuse me, but are is one of you a Miss H. Potter or a Miss R. Potter. Only I got about a 'undred of these this morning." She held up two letters with green writing on them.

Harri and Rose immediately stood up to make a grab for them but Uncle Vernon quickly snatched them from the puzzled woman.

"I'll take them," he said shortly.

They left again, stopping at numerous places where Uncle Vernon would get out, shake his head, get back into the car and continue driving.

"Daddy's gone mad hasn't he?" Dudley asked sadly at one of the many stops.

_~Oh, daddy went mad ages a go, Dudley~_ Rose said viciously.

Uncle Vernon eventually parked at the coast and disappeared somewhere.

"It's Monday," Dudley whined, "The Great Humberto's on tonight. I want to stay somewhere with a television."

The twins blinked. If today was Monday, and you could count on Dudley to know the days of the week from television, that meant tomorrow would be their birthday.

It wasn't like Harri and Rose looked forward to their birthdays. They'd been given a pair of old socks and a coat hanger for their last birthday. Still, you didn't turn eleven every day.

Uncle Vernon returned carrying a long, thin package. He didn't answer Aunt Petunia when she asked what it was.

"Found the perfect place!" he said happily, "Everyone out!" The wind was bitterly cold and chilled to the bone. They all climbed out the car, shivering.

"Storm forecast tonight!" Uncle Vernon said in delight. "This kind gentleman has agreed to lend us his boat!" A toothless old man limped over, grinning wickedly and pointing to a small boat bobbing in the grey water.

"I've taken care of the rations so everyone get in!" Uncle Vernon shouted.

It was freezing in the boat – icy water kept them drenched and the wind blew ferociously. The actual hut was terrible; it smelled of seaweed, the wind whistled through the gaps in the wall and the fireplace was damp and empty of heat.

The rations were a packet of crisps and banana each. When they finished eating, Uncle Vernon tried to start a fire with the empty crisp packets but they just smoked and shrivelled up.

"Could use some of those letters now eh?" he said cheerfully. He was in the best mood that Harri and Rose had ever seen him in, since leaving home. He obviously believed no one would dare battle the storm to deliver the letters. The twins privately agreed.

By night-time, the storm stared to peak. Spray from the water splattered the sides of the hut and the wind rattled the dirty windows. Aunt Petunia managed to find a few mould-ridden blankets and made up a bed for Dudley on the couch as she and Uncle Vernon took the bed in the next room. Harri and Rose were left with the thinnest blanket of all, trying to find the softest bit of floor they could.

The storm raged around the hut and the twins couldn't sleep; they were shivering from the cold and they were still starving. Harri and Rose tried to snuggle close to each other to conserve body heat, but it didn't seem to be doing much.

Dudley's snores couldn't be heard for once, they were drowned out by the storm. Harri and Rose could read the little glowing numbers on his digital watch. _11:50_, ten minutes and they would be eleven.

Harri and Rose sat and watched their birthday tick closer. At five minutes to go, they heard something creak outside.

"What was that?" Rose whispered.

"I don't know." Harri answered, just as quietly. "Hope the roof doesn't fall in."

"Though we might be warmer if it does." Rose murmured miserably.

Four minutes left. Maybe, when they got back, the house would be so full of letters they could grab one without the Dursleys noticing.

_11:57_. Something slapped the rocks outside.

_~Was that the ocean?~ _Harri asked.

_~Maybe~_

Two minutes left. There was a crunching noise outside.

_~The rock's not breaking is it?~_ Rose said uncertainly.

"One minute." Harri said out loud. _Ten, nine, eight-_

"Maybe we should wake Dudley up, just to tick him off." Rose breathed and Harri snorted.

_Three, two, one-_

BOOM.

**A/N So yeah. I really struggled to write this one as I just want to get up to ze MAGICS. Not much else to say about this.**

**Review please! Constructive criticism welcome! 3**


	3. The Keeper of the Keys

**AN: Sorry this took so long. I was terribly busy with school and other things but it's the holidays now so I might be able to get things up much faster. I have a tumblr now, yay! You can find it at You may or may not like it as it's mostly pony stuff I'm posting there but I'll also post announcements of new chapters/stories on there.**

**I'd also like to take this oppurtunity to introduce my dragon companion, Hydra! Say hello, Hydra.**

**Hydra: Hello, Hydra.**

**Me: *laughs* Isn't she a gem?**

**Hydra: Get on with it! No-one wants to hear you to make bad reference jokes. **

**Me: Well you don't have to be so mean about it.**

**Hydra: *sighs* I'll do the disclaimer then.**

**DISCLAIMER: silverquill96 does not own Harry Potter. If she did, she probably would have let Voldy live. She is slightly sadistic like that.**

Chapter 3 - The Keeper of the Keys

BOOM

Dudley woke, yelling "Where's the cannon?!" stupidly.

There was a crash and the twins turned to see Uncle Vernon barge into the room with a rifle in his hands.

_~Oh, so that's what was in the package~_ Harri said, vaguely.

_~A gun?!~_ Rose shrieked, _~He brought a gun?!~_

_~Whoa! Easy sis, you're gonna give me a headache~_ Harri replied, wincing.

_~Oops, sorry~_

"Who's there?!" their uncle was saying "I warn you, I'm armed!"

SMASH

The battered door fell forwards off its hinges and clattered loudly to the floor. Then, like out of some horror film, a huge figure stepped through the doorway, bending their head slightly to fit under it. The giant came into the half-light to reveal his huge, scraggly beard and beetle-black eyes. He turned, lifted up the door with ease and fitted it back into the frame.

"Sorry 'bout tha'" the giant said in a rough voice. "Could yeh make us up some tea? It's not been an easy journey."

The huge man turned and noticed the twins for the first time. "An' here's Harri an' Rose too!" he said, eyes crinkling up in a smile. "Blimey, las' time ah saw yeh two, yeh was only babies! Yeh both look a lot like yeh mum, but yeh've got yeh dad's hair." The twins kept silent. How did this man know them? And for that matter, why did he use their nicknames? They were only ever called that by each other.

He then turned to Dudley, who was still quivering on the couch. "Budge up, yeh great lump." The giant growled. Dudley leapt up almost immediately and ran behind his mother.

Uncle Vernon suddenly got his courage back. "I demand that you leave at once!" he yelled. "You are breaking and entering!"

"Dry up Dursley, yeh old prune." The giant said, unfazed. He ripped the rifle from Uncle Vernon's grasp, bent it into a knot and threw it into a corner. Uncle Vernon squeaked and fell silent.

"Anyway, Rose, Harri, happy birthday," The giant continued "Got summat for yeh, I mighta sat on it at one point but I imagine it'll taste just tha same." He pulled a slightly crushed box from one of his many pockets and handed it to the twins.

Harri tentatively opened the box. Inside was a chocolate cake with green icing letters which read; _HAPPY BIRTHDAY HARRI AND ROSE._

"Thank you!" Rose managed to say. She paused for a second then asked as politely as she could, "Who are you?"

"Shoulda' introduced meself sooner but ah well. Name's Rubeus Hagrid." The giant said leaning forward to shake the twin's whole arms. "I'm the Keeper of the keys and grounds at Hogwarts. Now how about that tea? I'll not mind summat stronger if yeh've got it though."

He snorted at the empty fireplace and leant forwards. Harri and Rose didn't see what he did, but when the giant sat back there was a roaring blaze in the hearth. The twins felt instantly warmer, like they'd suddenly sunk into a hot bath.

The girls silently agreed that this man was safe and relaxed visibly. The giant smiled his crinkly-eyed smile and pulled all manner of odd objects from his many pockets: a pack of sausages that looked a little squashed, a poker, a kettle, some teacups, a teapot and a bottle of orange liquid that he drank from before he set about making some tea.

Everyone sat in silence as the giant cooked but as he removed the six juicy, fat, slightly charred sausages from the fire, Dudley fidgeted. "Don't touch anything he gives you, Dudley" Uncle Vernon said sharply.

The giant chuckled darkly and said "Yer great puddin' of a son don't need anymore fattenin' up, Dursley." He passed the sausages to Harri and Rose. They were still very hot but the twins paid it no mind. They were too hungry to care even as the sausages scorched their mouths.

"I'm sorry, but we still don't know who you are." Harri said softly as they sipped their tea. The giant took a great gulp of his and wiped his mouth on his sleeve.

"Yeh can call me Hagrid, everyone does," he said. "An' like I said, I'm the keeper of the keys and grounds at Hogwarts. Course, yeh both know all 'bout Hogwarts,"

"Um, no – sorry" Harri said quickly as Hagrid's face darkened.

"Sorry?" he barked, "It's them lot who should be sorry!" the Dursleys pressed themselves into the wall. "I knew yeh weren't getting yer letters, but how could yeh not know 'bout Hogwarts? Didn't yeh ever wonder where yer mum and dad learned it all?"

"All what?" Rose asked.

"ALL WHAT?!" Hagrid boomed, "Dursley! Do yeh mean ter tell me that these girls know nothing about anything?!" Uncle Vernon squeaked and shrunk back further.

"Hey! We know stuff!" Harri said indignantly.

"Yeah, like maths and English!" Rose piped up. Their marks weren't that bad!

But Hagrid simply waved them off. "I mean about yer parent's world. Our world. _Yer_ world."

"What world?" Harri pressed.

"DURSLEY!" Uncle Vernon mumbled something unintelligible that sounded like 'mimble-wimble'.

"But yeh have teh know about yer mum an' dad!" Hagrid said, starting to sound a little desperate. "I mean, they're famous! Yer famous!"

"Our parents were famous?" Rose said incredulously.

"Yeh don' know…I can' believe neither of yeh know…" he said, running a hand through his wild mane of hair. "Yeh don' know what yeh are?"

Uncle Vernon suddenly got his courage back. "Stop! I won't allow you to tell the girls anything!" He squeaked as Hagrid glared at him.

"Yeh never told them?" Hagrid growled. "Yeh never told Harri an' Rose what was in the letter Dumbledore left with them, explaining everything? I was there! An' yeh kept from them all this time?"

"Kept what from us?" Rose persisted.

"STOP! I FORBID YOU TO TELL THEM ANYTHING!"

"Go boil yeh heads, the three of yeh." Hagrid snapped and Aunt Petunia let out a dramatic gasp. "Harri, Rose yer witches." There was a few moments of stunned silence in which the roaring of the wind and waves could be heard.

"Well that's not very nice." Harri commented frowning. Hagrid laughed.

"No, no, yeh've got the wrong idea," he chuckled. "I mean yeh can do _magic._ An' yeh'll be thumpin' good at it too, once we train yeh up a bit, I'd wager."

"Oh" was all the twins could say.

"An" Hagrid continued, reaching into a pocket, "I think it's about time yeh got these." He pulled out to parchment envelopes which Harri and Rose eagerly took. Harri's read:

_Miss H. Potter_

_The Floor_

_Hut-on-the-Rock_

_The Sea_

With a growing sense of anticipation, Harri slit open the envelope and unfolded the parchment as rose did the same.

_HOGWARTS SCHOOL of WITCHCRAFT and WIZARDRY_

_Headmaster: ALBUS DUMBLEDORE_

_(Order of Merlin, First Class, Grand Sorc., Chf. Warlock, Supreme Mugwump, International Confed. of Wizards)_

_Dear Miss Potter,_

_We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Please find enclosed a list of all necessary books and equipment._

_Term begins on September 1. We await your owl by no later than July 31._

_Yours sincerely,_

_Minerva McGonagall,_

_Deputy Headmistress_

Firework questions exploded in the twins mind and they couldn't think of one to ask first. Harri settled it by asking, "What does it mean by they await my owl?"

"Galloping gorgons, that reminds me." Hagrid said suddenly. He reached into one of his pockets and pulled out a real live, slightly ruffled, grey owl. It blinked at the room as Hagrid retrieved a pencil and some parchment from another pocket before he wrote a note that the twins could read upside down.

_Dumbledore,_

_Given the girls their letters. Taking them to get their things tomorrow._

_Weather's horrible. Hope you are well._

_Hagrid._

He then folded up the note and gave it to the owl who clamped it in its beak. He walked over to the window and threw the owl out into the storm before he returned to the couch as if he'd just made a phone call.

Rose realised her mouth was open and quickly shut it as she saw her sister do the same.

"There's a few thing yeh'll both need ta know before yeh go to Hogwarts-"

"They're not going." Uncle Vernon said stepping forwards.

"I'd like to see a big muggle like yerself stop them." Hagrid growled.

"What's a muggle?" Harri asked curiously.

"Non-magic folk." Hagrid said turning to her. "It's yer bad luck that yeh ended up with the worst ones I've ever seen.

"We swore we'd stamp it out of them the minute we took them in!" Uncle Vernon said furiously. "Witches indeed!"

"You knew?!" Rose yelled. "All this time you knew and you never told us?"

"How could you not be two of _them_!" Aunt Petunia suddenly burst out. "My perfect little sister being who she was, how could you not be? Oh, she got her letter and ran off to that _place_, and returned every holidays with her pockets full of frogspawn, turning teacups into rats and making things fly about!" It seemed Aunt Petunia had needed to let this out for a while.

"And then ran off with that Potter and had you two! Then she had to go and get herself blown up! And we got landed with you little brats!"

"Blown up?!" Harri snarled. "You told us that they died in a car crash!"

"A car crash?" Hagrid said, scandalised. "A car crash kill Lily and James Potter? This is an outrage! How could Harriet and Rosalie Potter not know their own story when every kid in our world does?"

"But why do they know our story? What made us famous?" Rose asked.

Hagrid seemed to deflate a little. "I never expected this." He said, wringing his hands with an anxious expression. "Dumbledore said there might be some trouble giving yeh yer letters but this... I can't let yeh go to Hogwarts without knowing but I dunno if I'm the right person to tell yeh this..." he threw a filthy look at the Dursleys.

"Please tell us, Hagrid." Rose said softly as she and Harri sat on the couch next to him.

"Well, it's best that yeh two know as much as I can tell yeh," Hagrid said, patting Rose's shoulder and causing her to sink into the couch. "I'll tell yeh as much as I can, mind I don't know all of it, much of it's still a myst'ry"

He stared into the flames and began after a few seconds. "Well, I guess it begins with someone called – well, it's incredible tha' yeh two don' know his name – everyone in our world does –"

"Who is it?" Harri said curiously, shifting slightly so that Rose could pull herself out of the couch.

"Well – if I can help it, I don' like ter say the name. No one does."

"Why?" Rose asked.

"Gulpin' Gargoyles, Harri – er, Rose, whichever one yeh are" The twins grinned a little despite the sombre mood, "- people're still scared ter say it. Well, there was this man who went – bad. As bad as yeh can go. His name was –" Hagrid gulped.

"Could you write it down?" Harri suggested.

"Nah, can' spell it," Hagrid said, shaking his head. "Alrigh' – his name's Vol – Voldemort." He shivered violently. "Please don' make me say it again."

"Ok," Harri said.

"Anyway, this – man – started lookin' fer followers abou' twenty years ago. He got 'em too – some were scared, some were bewitched, some jus' wanted a bit o' his power, because he was gettin' it alrigh'. Dark days, girls, yeh didn' know who ter trust or who was workin' against yeh.

"Yeh didn' want ter get too friendly with strange people. He was takin' over an' anyone who stood up ter him was killed – the McKinnons, the Bones and the Prewetts, ter name some – he killed 'em horribly. One o' the only safe places was Hogwarts – Dumbledore's the only one You-Know-Who ever feared.

"Yeh mum and dad were two o' the best witches and wizards I knew. Head Boy an' Girl in their seventh year! I guess the real myst'ry's why Voldemort never tried to recruit 'em before – maybe he knew they were too close ter Dumbledore ter want anythin' ter do with the Dark Side.

"Maybe You-Know-Who thought he could sway 'em ter his side, or maybe he just wanted 'em outta the way. All we know is that on Halloween ten years ago, he went ter the village where yeh two were livin'. Both of yeh were just a year old at the time. He went ter yer house an' – an' –" Hagrid took out a handkerchief and blew his nose with it, sounding like a foghorn.

"Sorry," he sniffed. "Bu' yeh couldn' find nicer people than yer parents – anyway…

"You-Know-Who killed 'em. An' then – an' this is the myst'ry – he tried ter kill the two of yeh as well. Maybe he wanted ter finish the job completely, or he just liked killin' by then. But he couldn' do it. Have yeh never wondered how yeh got those scars on yer foreheads? They're no normal scars, that's what yeh get when a powerful, dark, evil curse hits yeh – took care o' yer mum and dad and even yer house bu' yeh two survived, an' that's what makes yeh both famous, because no – one who's ever faced him has lived."

There was a moment of silence before Hagrid continued speaking. "Course, none but a few people know there's two of yeh. Yer parent's idea see, they wanted to keep yeh two safe so most people think that yer both the Boy-Who-Lived."

"What!?" Rose said at the same time as Harri said "They think we're a boy?!"

"Fer yer own protection, o' course." Hagrid said quickly.

"But everyone will know were not a boy now right?" Harri asked desperately.

"They will soon enough." Hagrid answered calmly.

"I guess." Rose huffed.

They stared into the crackling flames watching them dance in a fiery quickstep. It was quite relaxing.

"But, Hagrid, how can we be witches?" Harri spoke up. To tell the truth, both girls were a little sceptical of the whole thing. If they really were witches, how come they'd never turned the Dursleys into bats or toads before?

Hagrid merely chuckled. "Did yeh ever make anything happen? Something that yeh couldn't explain, when yeh were angry or upset?"

Now that they did think of it, the twins had somehow done things like that.

_~Like when we ended up on the roof!~ _Rose exclaimed.

_~And when we grew our hair back~ _Harri added.

_~Not to mention the boa constrictor incident~_

Hagrid beamed when the twins nodded slowly in acceptance.

"Harri an' Rose Potter, not witches. Yeh just wait, yeh'll be right famous at Hogwarts." He chuckled.

"Haven't I already told you they're not going?" Uncle Vernon hissed. Harri and Rose both jumped, they'd almost forgotten that the Dursleys were there. "They'll be going to s=Stonewall High and they'll be grateful for it! I've read those letters and they need all sorts of rubbish – spellbooks, wands, cauldrons, broomsticks, owls – "

"If they want ta go, a muggle like yeh isn't gonna ta stop 'em." Hagrid growled. "Yeh'd be mad to try an' stop Lily an James Potter's daughters from going ta Hogwarts! They've had their names down ever since they were born! They'll be with others jus' like 'em fer a change, and they'll be under the greatest headmaster Hogwarts has ever seen, Albus Dumbledore –"

"I WILL NOT PAY FOR SOME CRACKPOT OLD FOOL TO TEACH THEM MAGIC TRICKS!"

It appeared that Uncle Vernon had just crossed the line he'd been toeing ever since Hagrid had arrived. Hagrid snatched his pink umbrella up and roared, "NEVER – INSULT – ALBUS – DOMBLEDORE – IN – FRONT – OF – ME!" he whirled the umbrella through the air and pointed it at Dudley who was instantly encased in violet light. There was a sharp crack and suddenly Dudley was squealing in pain and dancing around, clutching his bottom, where a curly pig's tail had sprouted. With a roar, Uncle Vernon pulled Aunt Petunia and Dudley into the next room and slammed the door behind him.

"Shouldn'ta lost me temper," Hagrid said, putting the umbrella down. "Meant ter turn him into a pig but I suppose there wasn' much left ter do." The twins grinned. "Would yeh mind not tellin' anyone abou' that, girls? I'm not s'posed to use magic."

"Why can't you use magic?" Rose asked curiously.

"Well, I used ter go ter Hogwarts but they expelled me in me third year. Me wand was snapped an' everythin'. Dumbledore kept me on as gamekeeper. Great man, Dumbledore."

"Why were you expelled?" Harri asked.

"It's late and we've got lots ter do tomorrow, yeh need yer rest," Hagrid said loudly. "Gotta go inter town and get yer books an' all that." He took off his coat and threw it to Rose.

"Yeh two can kip under there fer the nigh'," he said. "Don' mind if it wriggles, I think there's still a couple of dormice in the pockets."

**AN: So that's chapter three done. Next up is Diagon Alley! How will the wizarding world react to the twins? The plot thickens. Mwahahaha!**

**Hydra: ... seriously what is going on in your twisted thinking device that you dare call a brain.**

**Me: *shudders* Dude, you don't wanna know...**

**Hydra: *sighs* Anyway, review pls.**


	4. Diagon Alley

**DISCLAIMER: I apoligise in advance that I had to use content from Chapter 5 of PS. Anything recognisable does not belong to me. Also I never have or will own the rights to the amazing Ms. Rowling's work.**

Chapter 4 – Diagon Alley

When Harri and Rose woke in the morning they didn't dare believe what had happened last night had been real. After all there's no use getting your hopes up for something you know isn't real. So when the twins woke from what they convinced each other was a very vivid dream to the sharp sound of tapping, they logically assumed that it was Aunt Petunia knocking on their cupboard door.

"Alright, we're getting up," Harri grumbled.

_~It was such a good dream~_ Rose sighed longingly.

Harri sat up pushing Hagrid's huge coat off herself in surprise. Rose blinked and sat up too. Hagrid was asleep on the couch. The tapping noise resumed.

The twins turned to see a brown owl, rapping on the window with its sharp beak. Harri quickly went over to the window and opened it while Rose disentangled herself from the coat. The owl flew in, dropped a rolled up newspaper on the ground and promptly began attacking Hagrid's coat.

"Shoo!" Rose hissed, trying to get the vicious bird away from the coat. Unfazed, the owl screeched angrily and continued to attack the coat.

"Hagrid!" Harri said sharply. "There's an owl!"

"Pay 'im" the giant grumbled sleepily. "There's money in the pockets"

Problem was, the coat was nothing but pockets. Eventually the girls managed to find some odd looking coins while the owl looked on irritably.

Harri and Rose looked at the coins in confusion. How were they supposed to pay the owl? The coins were unlike any they'd ever seen before. Thankfully, Hagrid was a little more awake by now and explained very briefly about the different currency of the wizarding world. Rose counted out five of the little bronze Knuts and tipped them into the pouch on the owl's outstretched leg.

The twins minds were reeling from all they'd learned so far about the wizarding world as they neared the shore in the magically sped boat. As Hagrid read his newspaper, Harri and Rose had a brief mental recap on what they knew.

_~Ok, so first of we got the fact that we're witches~_ Harri began.

_~Our parents didn't die in an accident, they were murdered~ _Rose continued.

_~There's an evil dark wizard named Voldemort who may or may not still be alive who attempted to kill us when we were babies~_

_~We're believed to be the Boy-Who-Lived~_

_~There's a completely different currency for us to learn~_

_~Apparently we've got some of this "wizard money" in a bank called Gringotts~_

_~Not to mention there's a Ministry of Magic with a Minister~_

_~I think that's all the important stuff for now~ _Rose finished.

_~Yeah~_

When they arrived at shore Harri, Rose and Hagrid went into town

Walking through town was... interesting to say the least. Hagrid kept on pointing out perfectly ordinary objects like parking meters and saying, "Ye see tha', Harri, Rose? The things these muggles dream up, eh?"

"Hagrid," Rose said as she and Harri ran a little to keep up with Hagrid, "Did you say that there are _dragons_ at Gringotts?"

"Well, tha's wha' they say," said Hagrid. "Crikey, I'd like a dragon."

"You'd _like _one?" Harri asked incredulously.

"Wanted one ever since I was a kid — here we go."

They had reached the station. There was a train to London in five minutes' time. Hagrid, who didn't understand "Muggle money," as he called it, gave the bills to Harri and Rose so they could buy their tickets.

People stared even more on the train. Hagrid took up two seats and sat knitting what looked like a bright yellow circus tent.

"Still got yer letters, girls?" he asked as he counted stitches.

Rose took the parchment envelope out of her pocket while Harri peered over her sister's shoulder.

"Good," said Hagrid. "There's a list there of everything yeh'll need."

Rose unfolded a second piece of paper she hadn't noticed the night before, and read:

_HOGWARTS SCHOOL of WITCHCRAFT and WIZARDRY_

_UNIFORM_

_First-year students will require:_

_1. Three sets of plain work robes (black)_

_2. One plain pointed hat (black) for day wear_

_3. One pair of protective gloves (dragon hide or similar)_

_4. One winter cloak (black, silver fastenings)_

_Please note that all pupils' clothes should carry name tags_

_COURSE BOOKS_

_All students should have a copy of each of the following:_

_The Standard Book of Spells (Grade 1)by Miranda Goshawk_

_A History of Magic by Bathilda Bagshot_

_Magical Theory by Adalbert Waffling_

_A Beginners' Guide to Transfiguration by Emeric Switch_

_One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi by Phyllida Spore_

_Magical Drafts and Potions by Arsenius Jigger_

_Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them by Newt Scamander_

_The Dark Forces: A Guide to Self-Protection by Quentin Trimble_

_OTHER EQUIPMENT_

_1 wand_

_1 cauldron (pewter, standard size 2)_

_1 set of glass or crystal phials_

_1 telescope set_

_1 brass scales_

_Students may also bring an owl OR a cat OR a toad_

_PARENTS ARE REMINDED THAT FIRST YEARS ARE NOT ALLOWED THEIR OWN BROOMSTICKS_

"Can we buy all this in London?" Harri wondered aloud.

"If yeh know where to go," said Hagrid vaguely.

The twins had never been to London before. Although Hagrid seemed to know where he was going, he was clearly not used to getting there by ordinary means of travel. He got stuck in the ticket barrier on the Underground, and complained loudly that the seats were tiny and the trains too slow.

"I don't know how the Muggles manage without magic," he said as they climbed a broken-down escalator that led up to a bustling road lined with shops.

Hagrid was so huge that he parted the crowd easily; all Harri and Rose had to do was keep close behind him. They passed book shops and music stores, hamburger restaurants and cinemas, but nowhere that looked as if it could sell you anything remotely magical. This was just an ordinary street full of ordinary people. Could there really be piles of wizard gold buried miles beneath them? Were there really shops that sold spell books and broomsticks? Might this not all be some huge joke that the Dursleys had cooked up?

_~I certainly would have believed that if we didn't know that the Dursleys hate imagination~ _Rose snorted.

_~Besides, can't really help but trust him. Hagrid just seems so, so...~ _Harri searched for the right word.

_~Nice? Safer than the Dursleys on a good day?~ _Rose supplied.

_~Something like that~_

Soon they came to a grubby looking pub with a metal sign reading "The Leaky Cauldron" Judging by the way no-one around could seem notice it was there, the twins assumed that there was some kind of magic stopping them from seeing it and followed Hagrid inside.

It was a dimly lit bar with people all wearing different colours and shades of cloaks and robes. Harri and Rose stopped when Hagrid did as the man tending the bar called out.

"Ah, Hagrid! The usual I presume?"

"No thanks, Tom," Hagrid replied cheerfully, "I'm on official Hogwarts business today. Jus' taking young Harri an' Rose to buy their school things."

The bar tender looked curiously at the twins for a moment before nodding and returning to his work. The rest of the pub's occupants went back to their conversations.

Hagrid lead the slightly confused girls through the bar, only pausing to say hello to frightened young man who was apparently one of the Hogwarts professors. They reached a back door which lead out to a small space that looked like it had very little purpose.

"What was that about?" Harri asked.

"Oh, they all thought tha' yeh might be Harry Potter fer a moment is all. Which yeh are, but they don't know that."

"Is that why they were so disappointed?"

"Yep."

"Is Professor Quirrell always that nervous?" Rose said.

"Oh, he didn't use ta be, ran to a bit o' trouble wit' a hag an' a vampire couple o' years ago, never been the same since. Scared of his students, scared of his subject. He used ta' be brilliant though." Hagrid replied absently, searching the brick wall for something.

_~Hags?~_ Rose said at the same time as Harri said _~Vampires?~_

"There we are!" Hagrid said happily after tapping one of the bricks three times. "Welcome, girls, to Diagon Alley." Harri and Rose gapped as the wall parted to reveal a bustling alley, full of people wearing colourful robes all looking to buy things from the odd shops that lined the alley.

Harri and Rose wished they had more eyes. There was just so much to look at. There were stores selling all sorts of things from robes to brooms, cauldrons to dragon livers. Luckily they each looked at one side of the street, they could swap memories later, so they could take in as much as they could.

"Gringotts." Hagrid suddenly said and the girls looked around had reached a snowy white building that towered over the other little shops. Standing beside its burnished bronze doors, wearing a uniform of scarlet and gold, was —

"Yeah, that's a goblin," said Hagrid quietly as they walked up the white stone steps toward him.

The goblin was about a head shorter than Harri and Rose. He had a swarthy, clever face, a pointed beard and, the twins noticed, very long fingers and feet. He bowed as they walked inside. Now they were facing a second pair of doors, silver this time, with words engraved upon them:

_Enter, stranger, but take heed_

_Of what awaits the sin of greed,_

_For those who take, but do not earn,_

_Must pay most dearly in their turn._

_So if you seek beneath our floors_

_A treasure that was never yours,_

_Thief, you have been warned, beware_

_Of finding more than treasure there._

"Like I said, Yeh'd be mad ter try an' rob it," said Hagrid.

A pair of goblins bowed them through the silver doors and they were in a vast marble hall. About a hundred more goblins were sitting on high stools behind a long counter, scribbling in large ledgers, weighing coins in brass scales, examining precious stones through eyeglasses. There were too many doors to count leading off the hall, and yet more goblins were showing people in and out of these. Hagrid, Rose and Harri made for the counter.

"Morning," said Hagrid to a free goblin. "We've come ter take some money outta Misses Harriet and Rosalie Potter's safe."

"You have their key, sir?"

"Got it here somewhere," said Hagrid, and he started emptying the contents of his numerous pockets onto the counter, scattering a handful of mouldy dog biscuits over the goblin's book of numbers.

The goblin wrinkled his nose. Harri watched the goblin on their right weighing a pile of rubies as big as glowing coals while Rose saw another goblin examine a sapphire about the size of her fist.

"Got it," said Hagrid at last, holding up a tiny golden key.

The goblin looked at it closely.

"That seems to be in order."

"An' I've also got a letter here from Professor Dumbledore," said Hagrid importantly, throwing out his chest. "It's about the You-Know-What in vault seven hundred and thirteen."

The goblin read the letter carefully.

"Very well," he said, handing it back to Hagrid, "I will have someone take you down to both vaults. Griphook!"

Griphook was yet another goblin.

Once Hagrid had crammed all the dog biscuits back inside his pockets, he and the girls followed Griphook toward one of the doors leading off the hall.

"What's the You-Know-What in vault seven hundred and thirteen?" Harri asked.

Can't tell yeh that," said Hagrid mysteriously. "Very secret. Hogwarts business. Dumbledore's trusted me. More'n my job's worth ter tell yeh that."

"Alright then," Rose said "Why wasn't the goblin surprised when you told him our names? I thought only a few people knew who we really were."

"The goblins already knew about tha'. Dumbledore wasn't concerned tho', goblins like knowing things tha' wizards don't. They find it funny when wizards are clueless 'bout things. They call it 'client confidentiality' but its more 'bout knowing importan' secrets."

Griphook held the door open for them. Harri and Rose, who had expected more marble, were surprised. They were in a narrow stone passageway lit with flaming torches. It sloped steeply downward and there were little railway tracks on the floor. Griphook whistled and a small cart came hurtling up the tracks toward them. They climbed in — Hagrid with some difficulty — and were off.

At first they just hurtled through a maze of twisting passages. Harri tried to remember, left, right, right, left, middle fork, right, left, but it was impossible. Rose tried helping but gave up, just enjoying the ride.

The rattling cart seemed to know its own way, because Griphook wasn't steering.

Rose and Harri's eyes stung as the cold air rushed past them, but they kept them wide open. Once, they thought they saw a burst of fire at the end of a passage and twisted around to see if it was a dragon, but too late - they plunged even deeper, passing an underground lake where huge stalactites and stalagmites grew from the ceiling and floor.

"I never know," Rose called to Hagrid over the noise of the cart, "what's the difference between a stalagmite and a stalactite?"

"Stalagmite's got an 'm' in it," said Hagrid. "An' don' ask me questions just now, I think I'm gonna be sick."

He did look very green, and when the cart stopped at last beside a small door in the passage wall, Hagrid got out and had to lean against the wall to stop his knees from trembling.

Griphook unlocked the door. A lot of green smoke came billowing out, and as it cleared, the twins gasped. Inside were mounds of gold coins. Tall columns of silver. Piles of little bronze Knuts.

"All yours," smiled Hagrid.

All theirs — it was incredible. The Dursleys couldn't have known about this or they'd have had it from them faster than blinking. How often had they complained how much Harri and Rose cost them to keep? And all the time there had been a small fortune belonging to them, buried deep under London. Hagrid helped Harri and Rose pile some of it into a bag.

"The gold ones are Galleons," he explained. "Seventeen silver Sickles to a Galleon and twenty-nine Knuts to a Sickle, it's easy enough. Right, that should be enough fer a couple o' terms, we'll keep the rest safe for yeh." He turned to Griphook. "Vault seven hundred and thirteen now, please, and can we go more slowly?"

"One speed only," said Griphook.

They were going even deeper now and gathering speed.

The air became colder and colder as they hurtled round tight corners. They went rattling over an underground ravine, and Harri leaned over the side to try to see what was down at the dark bottom, but Hagrid groaned and pulled her back by the scruff of her neck. Rose grinned at her twin and whooped in delight. They'd never been on a rollercoaster but figured this was pretty close to one.

Vault seven hundred and thirteen had no keyhole.

"Stand back," said Griphook importantly. He stroked the door gently with one of his long fingers and it simply melted away.

"If anyone but a Gringotts goblin tried that, they'd be sucked through the door and trapped in there," said Griphook.

How often do you check to see if anyone's inside?" Rose asked.

"About once every ten years," said Griphook with a rather nasty grin.

Something really extraordinary had to be inside this top security vault, Harri and Rose were sure, and they leaned forward eagerly, expecting to see fabulous jewels at the very least — but at first they thought it was empty. Then the girls noticed a grubby little package wrapped up in brown paper lying on the floor.

Hagrid picked it up and tucked it deep inside his coat. Harri and Rose longed to know what it was, but knew better than to ask.

Come on, back in this infernal cart, and don't talk to me on the way back, it's best if I keep me mouth shut," said Hagrid.

One wild cart ride later they stood blinking in the sunlight outside Gringotts. The twins didn't know where to run first now that they had a bag full of money. They didn't have to know how many Galleons there were to a pound to know that they were holding more money than they'd had in their whole lives — more money than even Dudley had ever had.

"Might as well get yer uniform," said Hagrid, nodding toward Madam Malkin's Robes for All Occasions. "Listen, girls, would yeh mind if I slipped off fer a pick-me-up in the Leaky Cauldron? I hate them Gringotts carts." He did still look a bit sick, so Harri and Rose entered Madam Malkin's shop alone, feeling nervous.

Madam Malkin was a squat, smiling witch dressed all in mauve.

"Hogwarts, dears?" she said, when Rose started to speak. "Got the lot here — there's young man being fitted up just now, in fact."

In the back of the shop, a boy with a pale, pointed face was standing on a footstool while a second witch pinned up his long black robes. Madam Malkin stood Harri on a stool next to him slipped a long robe over her head, and began to pin it to the right length. Rose was directed by a second witch to the stool next to Harri.

"Hello," said the boy, "Hogwarts, too?"

"Yes," said Rose and Harri nodded.

"My father's next door buying my books and mother's up the street looking at wands," said the boy.

He had a bored, drawling voice. "Then I'm going to drag them off to look at racing brooms. I don't see why first years can't have their own. I think I'll bully father into getting me one and I'll smuggle it in somehow."

Harri and Rose were strongly reminded of Dudley.

"Have _you _got your own brooms?" the boy went on.

"No," said Rose.

"Ever played Quidditch before?"

"No," Harri said, wondering what on earth Quidditch could be.

"_I _do — Father says it's a crime if I'm not picked to play for my house, and I must say, I agree. Know what house you'll be in yet?"

"No," said Harri and Rose in unison, feeling more stupid by the minute.

"Well, no one really knows until they get there, do they, but I know I'll be in Slytherin, all our family have been — imagine being in Hufflepuff, I think I'd leave, wouldn't you?"

"Mmm," said Harri, wishing she could think of something more interesting to say.

"I think you two would fit in in Slytherin, the colours match your eyes, you know. Green and silver."

"Thanks" Rose said quietly and both girls blushed a little.

"I say, look at that man!" said the boy suddenly, nodding toward the front window. Hagrid was standing there, grinning at the twins and pointing at three large ice creams to show he couldn't come in.

"That's Hagrid," said Harri, pleased to know something the boy didn't. "He works at Hogwarts."

"Oh," said the boy, "I've heard of him. He's a sort of servant, isn't he?"

"He's the gamekeeper," said Harri a little icily. He was liking the boy less and less every second. It didn't matter anymore that he'd complimented her and Rose.

"Yes, exactly. I heard he's a sort of _savage _— lives in a hut on the school grounds and every now and then he gets drunk, tries to do magic, and ends up setting fire to his bed."

"I think he's brilliant," said Harri coldly.

"_Do _you?" said the boy, with a slight sneer. "Why is he with you? Where are your parents?"

"They're dead," said Harri shortly. She didn't feel much like going into the matter with this boy.

"Oh, sorry," said the other, not sounding sorry at all.

"But they were _our _kind, weren't they?"

"They were a witch and wizard, if that's what you mean."

"I really don't think they should let the other sort in, do you? They're just not the same, they've never been brought up to know our ways. Some of them have never even heard of Hogwarts until they get the letter, imagine. I think they should keep it in the old wizarding families. What's your surname, anyway?"

But before either of the girls could answer, Madam Malkin said, "That's you done, my dear," and Harri, not sorry for an excuse to stop talking to the boy, hopped down from the footstool. She glanced back at Rose who was still getting her robe done.

_~Just go. Its fine~_ Rose said. Harri gave her a sympathetic look and went to the front of the store to pay.

"Well, I'll see you at Hogwarts, I suppose," the boy called after her.

"What's her problem?" he said turning to Rose.

"She didn't really like the way you were talking about our friend." Rose replied, shifting uncomfortably.

"Oh. Well, what's your name anyway?"

"Um, Rosalie Potter." What harm could it do? Everyone was going to know, one way or another.

The boy's eyes widened in surprise before he quickly regained his composure. "Really? Are you a relative of Harry Potter's?"

"You could say that." Rose said.

"Well, I'm Draco Malfoy." The boy said proudly.

"You're done now dearie," the assistant said. Rose hopped down from her stool and said goodbye to Draco Malfoy.

Harri and Rose were rather quiet as they ate the ice creams Hagrid had bought them (chocolate and raspberry with chopped nuts).

"What's up?" said Hagrid.

"Nothing," Harri lied.

_~Why were you talking to him?~ _Harri pestered.

_~Because, he wouldn't stop talking to me. Besides, he didn't seem that bad~_

_~But he's like Dudley, all spoilt and thinking he's the best thing to happen to the world. Plus he's insensitive~_

_~You're just going off a first impression. How do you know that's all there is to him?~_

_~I um... He probably would have acted differently if he knew who we were~_

_~Exactly my point. He was aiming to impress, so he would have done it anyway. He meant to make an impression. For all we know, he could have been just nervous and went completely out of character~_

_~...~_

_~I win~_

_~Not fair!~_

They stopped to buy parchment and quills. Harri cheered up a bit when she found a bottle of ink that changed colour as you wrote. When they had left the shop, he said, "Hagrid, what's Quidditch?"

"Blimey, I keep forgettin' how little yeh two know — not knowin' about Quidditch!"

"Don't make me feel worse," said Harri. She told Hagrid about the pale boy in Madam Malkin's. Rose stayed quiet.

"— and he said people from Muggle families shouldn't even be allowed in —"

"Yer not _from _a Muggle family. If he'd known who yeh _were _— he's grown up knowin' yer fake name if his parents are wizardin' folk. You saw what everyone in the Leaky Cauldron was like when they thought it was Harry Potter fer a moment. Anyway, what does he know about it, some o' the best I ever saw were the only ones with magic in 'em in a long line o' Muggles — look at yer mum! Look what she had fer a sister!"

"So what _is _Quidditch?" Rose piped up.

"It's our sport. Wizard sport. It's like — like soccer in the Muggle world — everyone follows Quidditch — played up in the air on broomsticks and there's four balls — sorta hard ter explain the rules."

"And what are Slytherin and Hufflepuff?" Harri asked.

"School houses. There's four. Everyone says Hufflepuff are a lot o' duffers, but —"

"I bet I'm in Hufflepuff," said Harri gloomily.

"Better Hufflepuff than Slytherin," said Hagrid darkly. "There's not a single witch or wizard who went bad who wasn't in Slytherin. You-Know-Who was one."

"Vol-, sorry —You-Know-Who was at Hogwarts?" Harri asked.

"Years an' years ago," said Hagrid.

They bought Harry's school books in a shop called Flourish and Blotts where the shelves were stacked to the ceiling with books as large as paving stones bound in leather; books the size of postage stamps in covers of silk; books full of peculiar symbols and a few books with nothing in them at all. Even Dudley, who never read anything, would have been wild to get his hands on some of these. Hagrid almost had to drag the twins away from _Curses and Countercurses (Bewitch Your Friends and Befuddle Your Enemies with the Latest Revenges: Hair Loss, Jelly-Legs, Tongue-Tying and Much, Much More) _by Professor Vindictus Viridian.

"We were trying to find out how to curse Dudley." Rose said.

"I'm not sayin' that's not a good idea, but yer not ter use magic in the Muggle world except in very special circumstances," said Hagrid. "An' anyway, yeh couldn' work any of them curses yet, yeh'll need a lot more study before yeh get ter that level."

Hagrid wouldn't let Harri buy a solid gold cauldron, either ("It says pewter on yer list"), but they got a nice set of scales for weighing potion ingredients and a collapsible brass telescope. Then they visited the Apothecary, which was fascinating enough to make up for its horrible smell, a mixture of bad eggs and rotted cabbages. Barrels of slimy stuff stood on the floor; jars of herbs, dried roots, and bright powders lined the walls; bundles of feathers, strings of fangs, and snarled claws hung from the ceiling. While Hagrid asked the man behind the counter for a supply of some basic potion ingredients for the girls, Harri examined silver unicorn horns at twenty-one Galleons each and Rose looked over minuscule, glittery-black beetle eyes (five Knuts a scoop).

Outside the Apothecary, Hagrid checked their list again.

"Just yer wand left — A yeah, an' I still haven't got yeh birthday presents."

The twins felt themselves go red. "You don't have to —"

"I know I don't have to. Tell yeh what, I'll get yer animals. Not a toad, toads went outta fashion years ago, yeh'd be laughed at— an' I don' like cats, they make me sneeze. I'll get yer owls. All the kids want owls, they're dead useful, carry yer mail an' everythin'."

Twenty minutes later, they left Eeylops Owl Emporium, which had been dark and full of rustling and flickering, jewel-bright eyes. Harri now carried a large cage that held a beautiful snowy owl, fast asleep with her head under her wing. Rose managed to convince Hagrid to let her get a cat instead so she now held a cat carrier with a young grey tom inside. The twins couldn't stop stammering their thanks.

"Don' mention it," said Hagrid gruffly. "Don' expect you've had a lotta presents from them Dursleys. Just Ollivander's left now — only place fer wands, Ollivander's, and yeh gotta have the best wand."

A magic wand… this was what Harri and Rose had been really looking forward to.

The last shop was narrow and shabby. Peeling gold letters over the door read Ollivander's: Makers of Fine Wands since 382 B.C. A single wand lay on a faded purple cushion in the dusty window.

A tinkling bell rang somewhere in the depths of the shop as they stepped inside. It was a tiny place, empty except for a single, spindly chair that Hagrid sat on to wait. The twins felt strangely as though they had entered a very strict library; they both swallowed a lot of new questions that had just occurred to them and looked instead at the thousands of narrow boxes piled neatly right up to the ceiling. For some reason, the back of their necks prickled.

The very dust and silence in here seemed to tingle with some secret magic.

"Good afternoon," said a soft voice. The girls jumped. Hagrid must have jumped, too, because there was a loud crunching noise and he got quickly off the spindly chair.

An old man was standing before them, his wide, pale eyes shining like moons through the gloom of the shop.

"Hello," said Rose awkwardly.

"Ah yes," said the man. "Yes, yes. I thought I'd be seeing you soon. Harriet Potter and Rosalie Potter." It wasn't a question. "I am one of the fortunate few who know your real identities. You have your mother's eyes. It seems only yesterday she was in here herself, buying her first wand. Ten and a quarter inches long, swishy, made of willow. Nice wand for charm work."

Mr. Ollivander moved closer to the twins. Harri and Rose wished he would blink. Those silvery eyes were a bit creepy.

"Your father, on the other hand, favoured a mahogany wand. Eleven inches. Pliable. A little more power and excellent for transfiguration. Well, I say your father favoured it — it's really the wand that chooses the wizard, of course."

Mr. Ollivander had come so close that he and Harri were almost nose to nose. Harri could see herself reflected in those misty eyes.

"And that's where…"

Mr. Ollivander touched the lightning scar on Harri's forehead with a long, white finger. He then touched Rose's scar.

"I'm sorry to say I sold the wand that did it," he said softly. "Thirteen-and-a-half inches. Yew. Powerful wand, very powerful, and in the wrong hands… well, if I'd known what that wand was going out into the world to do…"

He shook his head and then, to the twins' relief, spotted Hagrid.

"Rubeus! Rubeus Hagrid! How nice to see you again… Oak, sixteen inches, rather bendy, wasn't it?"

"It was, sir, yes," said Hagrid.

"Good wand, that one. But I suppose they snapped it in half when you got expelled?" said Mr. Ollivander, suddenly stern.

"Er — yes, they did, yes," said Hagrid, shuffling his feet. "I've still got the pieces, though," he added brightly.

"But you don't _use _them?" said Mr. Ollivander sharply.

"Oh, no, sir," said Hagrid quickly. The girls noticed he gripped his pink umbrella very tightly as he spoke.

"Hmmm," said Mr. Ollivander, giving Hagrid a piercing look. "Well, now — Miss Potter. Let me see." He pulled a long tape measure with silver markings out of his pocket. "Which is your wand arm?"

"Er — well, I'm right-handed," said Harri.

"Hold out your arm. That's it." He measured Harri from shoulder to finger, then wrist to elbow, shoulder to floor, knee to armpit and round his head. As he measured, he said, "Every Ollivander wand has a core of a powerful magical substance, Miss Potter. We use unicorn hairs, phoenix tail feathers, and the heartstrings of dragons. No two Ollivander wands are the same, just as no two unicorns, dragons, or phoenixes are quite the same. And of course, you will never get such good results with another wizard's wand."

Harri suddenly realized that the tape measure, which was measuring between her nostrils, was doing this on its own. Rose stifled a laugh. Mr. Ollivander was flitting around the shelves, taking down boxes.

"That will do," he said, and the tape measure crumpled into a heap on the floor. "Right then, Miss Potter. Try this one. Beechwood and dragon heartstring. Nine inches. Nice and flexible. Just take it and give it a wave."

Harri took the wand and (feeling foolish) waved it around a bit, but Mr. Ollivander snatched it out of her hand almost at once.

"Maple and phoenix feather. Seven inches. Quite whippy. Try —"

Harri tried — but she had hardly raised the wand when it, too, was snatched back by Mr. Ollivander.

"No, no — here, ebony and unicorn hair, eight and a half inches, springy. Go on, go on, try it out."

Harri tried. And tried. She had no idea what Mr. Ollivander was waiting for. The pile of tried wands was mounting higher and higher on the spindly chair, but the more wands Mr. Ollivander pulled from the shelves, the happier he seemed to become.

"Tricky customer, eh? Not to worry, we'll find the perfect match here somewhere — I wonder, now — yes, why not — unusual combination — holly and phoenix feather, eleven inches, nice and supple."

Harri took the wand. She felt a sudden warmth in her fingers.

She raised the wand above her head, brought it swishing down through the dusty air and a stream of red and gold sparks shot from the end like a firework, throwing dancing spots of light on to the walls.

Hagrid whooped and clapped and Mr. Ollivander cried, "Oh, bravo! Yes, indeed, oh, very good. Well, well, well… how curious… how very curious…"

He put Harri's wand back into its box and wrapped it in brown paper, still muttering, "Curious… curious…"

The same process was repeated with Rose until she tried an 10 and a half inch ivy wand with phoenix feather and produced a cascade of silver and gold sparks. Mr. Ollivander wrapped up Rose's wand muttering "Curious... curious..." again.

"Sorry," said Harri, "but what's curious?"

Mr. Ollivander fixed Harri with his pale stare.

"I remember every wand I've ever sold, Miss Potter. Every single wand. It so happens that the phoenix whose tail feather is in your wand, gave two other feathers — just two others. One resides in your sister's wand. It is very curious indeed that you two should be destined for these wands when their brother — why, their brother gave you those scars."

Harri and Rose swallowed.

"Yes, thirteen-and-a-half inches. Yew. Curious indeed how these things happen. The wand chooses the wizard, remember… I think we must expect great things from you and your sister, Miss Potter… After all, He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named did great things — terrible, yes, but great."

Harri and Rose shivered. They weren't sure they liked Mr. Ollivander too much. They paid seven gold Galleons each for their wands, and Mr. Ollivander bowed them from his shop.

The late afternoon sun hung low in the sky as the twins and Hagrid made their way back down Diagon Alley, back through the wall, back through the Leaky Cauldron, now empty.

"Um, Hagrid," Rose started, "We were just thinking... the Dursleys aren't too happy with us right now. Could we maybe stay somewhere else until term starts?"

"I spose tha' be alright." Hagrid said frowning. "Yeh can stay here, I'll just get Tom teh get yer a room."

A short while later, both girls had brought everything they bought up to a room with two single beds. They went to say goodbye to Hagrid who handed them an envelope.

"Yer tickets fer Hogwarts, " he said. "First o' September — King's Cross — it's all on yer ticket. Any problems, send me a letter with yer owl, she'll know where to find me…. See yeh soon, Harri, Rose ."

He left the pub and the girls went back upstairs to their room. They ended up pushing the beds together and spent the night reading their books and playing with their new pets.

**AN: Phew. Haven't gotten a chapter out for a while, but here is where we start to see differences in the plot. Also I did have to copy some parts from the book due to lack of inspiration for the other bits. My brain is making ideas for this story as well as my other fic and two stories that are just in concept stage right now. Already I am having plot bunnies making a huge warren in my head it's starting to drive me ka-razey. Ugh. The point is yearly exams are coming up at school and I am going to find it harder to write. I could probably rant about this crap all night but I won't.**

**Thanks to everyone who has reviewed/followed/favourited my fic thus far.**

**Please review. I'd love to get some feedback; although "good story update soon" is not what a review is. Not in the slightest. I can't remember which fic it was I got that for but I was not expecting that. It puts pressure on me to try and make people happy and that doesn't make me happy which ends up making my writing bad so no-one is happy.**


	5. Platform Nine and Three Quarters

**DISCLAIMER: No! For the last time! I don't own anything Harry Potter related. Unless you count my copy of book six and my Sirius Black "HAVE YOU SEEN THIS WIZARD?" poster. But that's besides the point. I treasure both and they were paid for. Unlike the rights which I don't have.**

Chapter 5

The month that the twins spent at Diagon Alley was the best they'd had so far. Every day was spent exploring the Alley, going into the shops they didn't get to go to before and, for the first time in their lives, doing whatever they wanted.

While they knew very little about the wizarding world, Harri and Rose tried to learn as much as they could about it.

Harri had named her owl Hedwig, a name she'd found while reading _A History of Magic_ and Rose named her cat Merlin, another name found in the book. There school books were far more interesting than the ones they'd found at the Dursleys.

They would often lie on their beds, reading late into the night, Merlin curled up in Rose's lap while Hedwig swooped in and out the window. It was lucky that wizards were used to owls bringing in dead mice. Harri and Rose had a piece of paper that they would check off the days left until September first every night.

On the last night of August the twins could barely get to sleep. They were too excited for the next day for that.

At five o'clock in the morning Harri and Rose hurriedly got up and dressed quickly. They kept checking that they had everything and that Hedwig was secure in her cage and Merlin in his carrier.

About an hour later they went downstairs for breakfast.

"You two are up early." Tom commented idly as they ate. "Excited for school?"

"Oh definitely." Rose replied happily.

"By the way, Tom, we were wondering," Harri started, feeling silly for asking. "Um, how exactly do we get to Platform Nine and three quarters?"

"Oh don't worry, you're not the only first years who have trouble with that." Harri and Rose exchanged a relieved look. "All that you have to do is go through the third barrier on Platforms Nine and Ten."

"Just go through?" Rose asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Well, yes. That's the way they've been doing it for years. Oh you probably don't know how you're getting to Kings Cross either."

"No."

"Well that's easy enough, when you've got all your things ready, just go outside, stick your wand out and the Knight Bus will come." Then Tom left to go tend to a costumer.

"The Knight Bus?" Harri said in confusion.

"Harri, it's a world of magic, I think we'd better just go with it." Rose said just as uncertainly.

At exactly seven o'clock, the girls lugged their trunks and the cages downstairs. They said goodbye to Tom and left the Leaky Cauldron.

They stood outside the pub and Rose tentatively stuck out her wand. Muggles passing by looked at the twins funny when Harri and Rose gasped as a huge triple-decker, bright purple bus pulled up out of nowhere. A young witch addressed them from the door, reading from a card. She had brown frizzy hair and looked rather bored.

"Welcome to the Knight Bus. Emergency transport for the stranded witch or wizard. My name is Eliza Becker, and I will be your conductor for this morning."

The witch looked at the two girls gawping at her. "Well are you gonna get on or what?"

"Erm, yes." Harri said uncertainly.

"Come on then. Get in."

And with that, two trunks, an owl and a cat were lugged aboard. Harri and Rose paid the conductor for the trip to Kings Cross. As soon as the two girls had sat down on the chairs that were strewn about the bus, Eliza rapped smartly on the glass next to the bus driver's seat. "Move out, Ernie." The driver jumped to attention and hurriedly started the engine.

The bus shot off and wove hap hazardously through the streets of London. Apparently Ernie had never learnt to driver properly. As it zoomed along, things jumped out of the way of the bus. The contents of the bus slid around inside, including the people. Merlin yowled furiously from inside his carrier and Hedwig beat her wings against the sides of her cage. Together the two animals made quite the din.

The bus pulled up sharply at Kings Cross Station and the girls tumbled out rather ungracefully with their things. Eliza shouted cheerfully after them, "Come again soon!" before the bus shot off again.

Harri and Rose looked at each other with wide eyes. That definitely wasn't an experience they wanted to have again.

The twins quickly found trolleys to load their trunks onto, not wanting to drag them anymore. It took some work but between the two of them they managed to get the heavy trunks on.

Harri and Rose set off down Platforms Nine and Ten determinedly. When they reached the third barrier they stopped. This was where Tom said they needed to be. There was just one problem. Despite knowing that magic was real, they were having a hard time believing that running headlong into a brick wall would get them to Platform Nine and Three Quarters.

They waited for a bit, noticing that it was only nine o'clock. The train wouldn't leave for another two hours so there wasn't much to worry about. By nine thirty, Harri and Rose were getting anxious. Then they heard:

"Father, I still don't know why we should have to go through muggles just to get there, I mean, really."

The girls whipped around to see a family of three approaching. All of them had white-blonde hair and the boy between his parents was the one they'd met in Madame Malkin's. As they came nearer, Draco gave a start as he recognised the girls. He quickly composed himself. His mother and father noticed though.

"And who might you two be?" Mrs Malfoy asked, a little snobbishly.

"Ah, mother, father, these are the two girls I meet in the robe shop. Rosalie Potter and – sorry I didn't catch your name before?" Draco said nervously. He clearly was trying to maintain a good image in front of his parents.

"Oh, I'm Harriet." Harri said quickly. He was after all, the only wizard their age that they'd met so far.

"Are you perchance related to Harry Potter?" Mr Malfoy asked curiously, looking at the girls critically.

"Well um, kind of." Rose said uncomfortably. This wasn't really a topic they wanted to go into.

"Perhaps we should go to the Platform. We wouldn't want to stay among such... company." Mrs Malfoy said looking around at the muggles disdainfully.

"Quite right my dear." Mr Malfoy agreed looking at the muggles too. "Come, Draco."

"See you the train then." Draco said following his parents. Harri and Rose watched in amazement as the small family ran into the barrier and vanished.

"Can't be that hard, can it?" Rose said uncertainly.

"Looks it, but apparently it's the only way on to the Platform." Harri replied.

There was nothing else for it. Making sure their respective pets were secure, Harri and Rose ran straight for the barrier. Right before they hit it they felt a whoosh and found themselves miraculously on the Platform. The sign dangling nearby proved it.

"Well that was weird." Rose remarked.

"Yeah." Harri breathed. "C'mon, we need to find a compartment."

The two girls made for the huge scarlet train entitled _The Hogwarts' Express_. It took a great deal of puffing and panting along with some choice swears they'd picked up from their Uncle, but they managed to lug their trunks aboard.

Harri and Rose pulled out the extra book they'd gotten to share, _Hogwarts: A History_, and began to read. They were so deeply immersed in it that they didn't realise how long they'd been there until the train started moving.

A knock at the compartment door made them jump. Draco had come back. "Sorry I left like that before." He said apologetically.

"It's alright." Rose said.

"Do you want to come sit in my compartment?"

Rose grinned. "Sure." Harri shot her sister a look.

"Come on then," he said and left. Rose got up to follow when she noticed Harri hadn't moved.

"Aren't you coming?"

"No thanks."

"Suit yourself." Rose shrugged and followed Draco.

Soon they came to a compartment with four other kids. Draco opened the door and went in, Rose close behind.

"Guys, this is Rosalie Potter," he introduced proudly. "Rosalie-"

"You can call me Rose." Rose interrupted.

Draco looked a little indignant at being interrupted but continued. "Rose, this is Blaise Zabini, Pansy Parkinson, Vincent Crabbe and Gregory Goyle."

The others nodded by way of greeting as their names were announced respectively. Pansy leant forward as Rose sat down next to Draco.

"So apparently you're related to the boy-who-lived."

Rose sighed with annoyance and ignored the snide comment Harri made in her head (something about pugs who shouldn't be so nosey). "Yes."

"What's he like?" Blaise asked.

_~None of your damn business~_ Harri snapped.

_~Shut up, I'm trying to talk to people here!~_

"Can I trust you guys to keep a secret?" Rose asked uneasily.

_~Oh hell no. You're not telling __**them!**_

_~Shut it!~_

"Of course you can, Rose." Draco said. "After all, we're Slytherins, _'Where you'll make your true friends'_"

"Ok, well, truth is Harry Potter doesn't exist."

"What?" Blaise laughed. "You're mad! Who else could have possibly killed the Dark Lord?"

"Harry James Potter is a name my parents made up as a cover." Rose said seriously looking at him.

"Wait, you don't mean that you-?" Pansy gasped.

"Yep," Rose brushed her dark bangs out of the way to reveal the lightning-bolt scar perched on her forehead.

"Wicked." Blaise breathed.

"What about your sister? Her name is closer to Harry Potter than yours is." Draco said frowning.

"She has a scar too." Rose said calmly smoothing her hair back over her scar.

-POV SWAP-

"So you're like the Twins-who-lived instead?" Ron asked still a little stunned.

"Well, yeah." Harri said uncomfortably. "But you have to keep it a secret for now, ok?"

Ron shook himself out of his daze and placed his hand on his heart. "Weasley's honour." He said solemnly

"Thanks." Harri sighed in relief. They watched the countryside blur past for a while.

"So what's it like growing up in an all wizard family?" Harri asked to break the silence.

-POV swap-

Rose had just asked the same question.

"It really depends on who you ask." Pansy supplied. "For me it's brilliant, the best part is when someone holds a Ball."

"Of course the grandest ones are always the ones held at Malfoy Manor." Draco said proudly.

Blaise muttered something under his breath that sounded like "egomaniac" Rose grinned at him.

Draco continued as if he hadn't heard. "Every year one of the Pureblood families is chosen to host the Winter Solstice Ball."

"Winter Solstice?" Rose asked in confusion.

"You know, Christmas?" Pansy asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Oh, sorry, my sister and I were raised by muggles."

"What? I mean we'd heard your alter ego was sent to live with them, but really. So you don't know anything about wizarding customs or law?"

"No, sorry. We didn't even know we were witches until we got the letters. Not even anything about the whole "Boy-who-lived" thing or Voldemort-"

"Don't say the Dark Lords name!" Everyone else in the compartment yelled.

"Er- sorry." Rose said meekly.

"But that's still not right!" Draco said furiously. "You and your sister are all that's left of the Potter line! How are you supposed to be Lady Potter if you don't know anything about what it means to be a witch?"

Rose shifted uncomfortably.

"Don't worry, Rose. We have been raised the way witches and wizards should be. We can teach you what we know." Pansy said confidently.

Majority of the train ride was spent discussing Wizarding Law and what was expected of an heir. While it was a little boring, Rose listened with rapt attention. This was important stuff and she needed to know it.

They were interrupted by a girl with bushy hair and a round faced boy looking for a toad. They told them they hadn't seen it and the girl looked at Rose funny. _She must have already seen Harri_, Rose thought.

Draco left with Vincent and Gregory saying that he was going to offer Harri they same advice. Rose was a little uneasy about this; Harri didn't really like Draco.

Rose caught snippets of the conversation but was distracted by Pansy and Blaise lecturing about pureblood etiquette. When Draco came back he didn't look too pleased and Gregory was nursing an injured finger.

"She refused!" he spat.

"What?"

"Harriet! Your sister didn't seem very interested in being friends or learning about acting like a proper witch."

"Well how did you ask her?" Harri was just as interested as Rose was about knowing as much as possible about the wizarding world.

"I – well –" Draco clearly didn't expect that question.

Rose sighed. "You insulted whoever she was with, didn't you?"

"She was with a Weasley!" Draco snapped.

"And what's so bad about that?"

"Rose, the Weasleys and the Malfoys have a blood feud." Blaise said. "So naturally Draco is going to insult one."

"Great." Rose groaned. "Now my sister is friends with this Weasley guy, you're not going to want to go near her, are you?"

"No." Draco said firmly.

_~Feelings mutual~_

_~But out Harri~_

Pansy got the boys to leave when it was time to get changed into their robes. Rose straightened her tie nervously as she tried to smooth down her hair. She could feel Harri was just as nervous as she was which didn't help at all.

"Just remember, Rose," Pansy said calmly, "You are a lady of the Noble House of Potter and have to always maintain a proper image."

"Right." Rose swallowed as they left the train. All these customs were making it harder for her to relax.

A familiar voice called down the station. "Firs' years! Firs' years over here! All right there, Harri?"

Hagrid's big hairy face beamed over the sea of heads.

Rose heard Draco make a noise of disgust next to her. She rolled her eyes.

"C'mon, follow me — any more firs' years? Mind yer step, now! Firs' years follow me!"

Slipping and stumbling, they followed Hagrid down what seemed to be a steep, narrow path. Rose thought that they must be surrounded by thick trees, it was so dark. Nobody spoke much. The boy who'd lost his toad sniffed once or twice.

"Yeh'll get yer firs' sight o' Hogwarts in a sec," Hagrid called back to them, "jus' round this bend here."

There was a loud "Oooooh!"

The narrow path had opened suddenly onto the edge of a great black lake. Perched atop a high mountain on the other side, its windows sparkling in the starry sky, was a vast castle with many turrets and towers.

"No more'n four to a boat!" Hagrid called, pointing to a fleet of little boats sitting in the water by the shore. Rose, Pansy, Draco and Blaise all got in one and Vincent and Gregory lumbered off to another one.

"Everyone in?" shouted Hagrid, who had a boat to himself. "Right then — FORWARD!"

And the fleet of little boats moved off all at once, gliding across the lake, which was as smooth as glass. Everyone was silent, staring up at the great castle overhead. It towered over them as they sailed nearer and nearer to the cliff on which it stood.

"Heads down!" yelled Hagrid as the first boats reached the cliff; they all bent their heads and the little boats carried them through a curtain of ivy that hid a wide opening in the cliff face. They were carried along a dark tunnel, which seemed to be taking them right underneath the castle, until they reached a kind of underground harbor, where they clambered out onto rocks and pebbles.

"Oy, you there! Is this your toad?" said Hagrid, who was checking the boats as people climbed out of them.

"Trevor!" cried the boy blissfully, holding out his hands. Then they clambered up a passageway in the rock after Hagrid's lamp, coming out at last onto smooth, damp grass right in the shadow of the castle.

They walked up a flight of stone steps and crowded around the huge, oak front door.

"Everyone here? You there, still got yer toad?"

Hagrid raised a gigantic fist and knocked three times on the castle door.

**AN: It's been a while hasn't it? Anyway, as you can see here, Rose will be in a seperatish storyline. Cookies for whoever guesses her house. While she is a lot like Harri, she is more rational, she'll think things over before taking action.**

**Every review, fav, or follow is appreciated. I get excited whenever I see that someone likes my stories. Less than three.**


	6. The Sorting Hat

**AN: to Soul Painted Black: **Do I really need to remind you that this is my fanfic not yours? I decide what happens. Going along with the crowd would be putting up a poll to decide what happens. Besides you are making assumptions. I have only posted a few chapters. How could you possibly know that they won't be close? Don't forget that these two have had no one else but each other for more than ten years. Misunderstandings happen between siblings all the time. I have a brother and a sister who I disagree with frequently but we are still a family and we look out for each other. Having an arguement over choice of friends is not enough to drive them apart forever.

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own Harry Potter. Once again I am deeply sorry that a lot of this is from the book.**

Chapter 6

The door swung open at once. A tall, black-haired witch in emerald-green robes stood there. She had a very stern face and Harry's first thought was that this was not someone to cross.

"The firs' years, Professor McGonagall," said Hagrid.

"Thank you, Hagrid. I will take them from here."

She pulled the door wide. The entrance hall was so big you could have fit the whole of the Dursleys' house in it. The stone walls were lit with flaming torches like the ones at Gringotts, the ceiling was too high to make out, and a magnificent marble staircase facing them led to the upper floors.

They followed Professor McGonagall across the flagged stone floor. Rose could hear the drone of hundreds of voices from a doorway to the right — the rest of the school must already be here — but Professor McGonagall showed the first years into a small, empty chamber off the hall. They crowded in, standing rather closer together than they would usually have done, peering about nervously.

"Welcome to Hogwarts," said Professor McGonagall. "The start-of-term banquet will begin shortly, but before you take your seats in the Great Hall, you will be sorted into your houses. The Sorting is a very important ceremony because, while you are here, your house will be something like your family within Hogwarts. You will have classes with the rest of your house, sleep in your house dormitory, and spend free time in your house common room.

"The four houses are called Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw and Slytherin. Each house has its own noble history and each has produced outstanding witches and wizards. While you are at Hogwarts, your triumphs will earn your house points, while any rule breaking will lose house points. At the end of the year, the house with the most points is awarded the house cup, a great honour. I hope each of you will be a credit to whichever house becomes yours.

"The Sorting Ceremony will take place in a few minutes in front of the rest of the school. I suggest you all smarten yourselves up as much as you can while you are waiting."

Her eyes lingered for a moment on the boy with the toad's cloak, which was fastened under his left ear, and on the red head next to Harri's smudged nose.

Rose nervously tried to smooth her hair again.

"I shall return when we are ready for you," said Professor McGonagall. "Please wait quietly."

She left the chamber. Rose swallowed.

"How exactly do they sort us into houses?" she asked Draco.

"It's not really anything to be worried about. Father said all that happens is we try on an old hat and it puts us in our houses."

"Oh," Rose said.

All around them, the other first years were whispering about what would happen. Rose noticed the girl with bushy hair talking very fast about what spells she'd learned and which ones she might need. Rose ignored her. Despite knowing now what the Sorting was going to be like, Rose still felt nervous. Truth be told, she felt worse right now than when she and Harri had to take home a report saying they'd somehow turned their teacher's wig blue.

Then something happened that made her jump about a foot in the air — several people behind her screamed.

"What the —?"

Rose gasped. So did the people around her. About twenty ghosts had just streamed through the back wall.

Pearly-white and slightly transparent, they glided across the room talking to one another and hardly glancing at the first years. They seemed to be arguing.

What looked like a fat little monk was saying: "Forgive and forget, I say, we ought to give him a second chance —"

"My dear Friar, haven't we given Peeves all the chances he deserves? He gives us all a bad name and you know, he's not really even a ghost — I say, what are you all doing here?"

A ghost wearing a ruff and tights had suddenly noticed the first years.

Nobody answered.

"New students!" said the Fat Friar, smiling around at them. "About to be Sorted, I suppose?"

A few people nodded mutely.

"Hope to see you in Hufflepuff!" said the Friar. "My old house, you know."

"Move along now," said a sharp voice. "The Sorting Ceremony's about to start."

Professor McGonagall had returned. One by one, the ghosts floated away through the opposite wall.

"Now, form a line," Professor McGonagall told the first years, "and follow me."

Feeling oddly as though her legs had turned to lead, Rose got into line behind Draco, with Pansy behind her, and they walked out of the chamber, back across the hall, and through a pair of double doors into the Great Hall.

Rose could never possibly imagine such a bizarre and beautiful place.

It was lit by thousands and thousands of candles that were floating in midair over four long tables, where the rest of the students were sitting. These tables were laid with gleaming golden plates and goblets. At the top of the hall was another long table where the teachers were sitting. Professor McGonagall led the first years up here, so that they came to a halt in a line facing the other students, with the teachers behind them. The hundreds of faces staring at them looked like pale lanterns in the flickering candlelight. Strewn here and there among the students, the ghosts shone misty silver. Mainly to avoid all the staring eyes, Rose looked upward and saw a velvety black ceiling dotted with stars. She could hear the girl with bushy hair whisper, "Its bewitched to look like the sky outside. I read about it in _Hogwarts, A History_."

It was hard to believe there was a ceiling there at all, and that the Great Hall didn't simply open on to the heavens.

Rose quickly looked down again as Professor McGonagall silently placed a four-legged stool in front of the first years. On top of the stool she put a pointed wizard's hat. This hat was patched and frayed and extremely dirty. Aunt Petunia wouldn't have let it in the house.

For a few seconds, there was complete silence. Then the hat twitched. A rip near the brim opened wide like a mouth — and the hat began to sing:

"_Oh, you may not think I'm pretty,_

_But don't judge on what you see,_

_I'll eat myself if you can find_

_A smarter hat than me._

_You can keep your bowlers black,_

_Your top hats sleek and tall,_

_For I'm the Hogwarts Sorting Hat_

_And I can cap them all._

_There's nothing hidden in your head_

_The Sorting Hat can't see,_

_So try me on and I will tell you_

_Where you ought to be._

_You might belong in Gryffindor,_

_Where dwell the brave at heart,_

_Their daring, nerve, and chivalry_

_Set Gryffindors apart;_

_You might belong in Hufflepuff,_

_Where they are just and loyal,_

_Those patient Hufflepuffs are true_

_And unafraid of toil;_

_Or yet in wise old Ravenclaw,_

_if you've a ready mind,_

_Where those of wit and learning,_

_Will always find their kind;_

_Or perhaps in Slytherin_

_You'll make your real friends,_

_Those cunning folk use any means_

_To achieve their ends._

_So put me on! Don't be afraid!_

_And don't get in a flap!_

_You're in safe hands (though I have none)_

_For I'm a Thinking Cap!"_

The whole hall burst into applause as the hat finished its song. It bowed to each of the four tables and then became quite still again.

Rose wasn't sure which house she would belong in; though if there was one for people who felt queasy she'd fit right in.

Professor McGonagall came forward with a long roll of parchment.

"When I call your name, you will put on the hat and sit on the stool to be sorted," she said. "Abbott, Hannah!"

A pink-faced girl with blonde pigtails stumbled out of line, put on the hat, which fell right down over her eyes, and sat down. A moment's pause —

"HUFFLEPUFF!" shouted the hat.

The table on the right cheered and clapped as Hannah went to sit down at the Hufflepuff table. Harry saw the ghost of the Fat Friar waving merrily at her.

"Bones, Susan!"

"HUFFLEPUFF!" shouted the hat again, and Susan scuttled off to sit next to Hannah.

"Boot, Terry!"

"RAVENCLAW!"

The table second from the left clapped this time; several Ravenclaws stood up to shake hands with Terry as he joined them.

"Brocklehurst, Mandy" went to Ravenclaw too, but "Brown, Lavender" became the first new Gryffindor, and the table on the far left exploded with cheers; Rose could see red haired twin brothers catcalling.

"Bulstrode, Millicent" then became a Slytherin.

"Finch-Fletchley, Justin!"

"HUFFLEPUFF!"

Sometimes, Rose noticed, the hat shouted out the house at once, but at others it took a little while to decide. "Finnigan, Seamus," the sandy-haired boy next to Harri in the line, sat on the stool for almost a whole minute before the hat declared him a Gryffindor.

"Granger, Hermione!"

Hermione almost ran to the stool and jammed the hat eagerly on her head.

"GRYFFINDOR!" shouted the hat. The red head next to Harri groaned.

Rose tried to keep calm when she heard Harri having a panic attack in her head.

_~HARRI! Relax!~_

_~But what if I'm not chosen? What if I have to go back to the Dursleys?~_

_~Not if I have anything to say about it~ _Rose said trying to sound confident.

When the boy who kept losing his toad, Neville Longbottom, was called, he fell over on his way to the stool.

The hat took a long time to decide with Neville.

When it finally shouted, "GRYFFINDOR," Neville ran off still wearing it, and had to jog back amid gales of laughter to give it to "MacDougal, Morag."

Draco winked at Rose and swaggered forward when his name was called and got his wish at once: the hat had barely touched his head when it screamed, "SLYTHERIN!"

Draco went to join Vincent and Gregory, looking pleased with himself.

There weren't many people left now. "Moon"…, "Nott"… , "Parkinson"… , then a pair of twin girls, "Patil" and "Patil"… , then "Perks, Sally-Anne"… , and then, at last —

"Potter, Harriet!"

Rose felt her heart give a lurch as Harri was called. As Harri stepped forward, whispers suddenly broke out like little hissing fires all over the hall.

"_Potter_, did she say?"

"_The _Harry Potter?"

"Harriet!? But I thought she was supposed to be a boy?"

"That can't be right!"

Everyone in the hall was now trying to get a good look at Harri before the Hat dropped over her eyes. Rose closed her eyes to listen to what was happening on her sister's end. To her shock, she couldn't make out what the Hat was saying. All that came through was a jumble of words making the link sound like a broken radio.

After a minute or so though, the Hat bellowed out "GRYFFINDOR!" and Harri ran to join the Gryffindor table grinning in relief amidst cheers of "We got Potter! We got Potter!" from the red haired twins. Harri seemed to be getting the loudest cheer yet. They all seemed to have easily gotten over the whole "Boy-Who-Lived isn't actually a boy" thing. That was until Professor McGonagall called "Potter, Rosalie"

Whispers broke out once more as Rose made her way to the stool. She immediately knew how Harri felt seeing everyone craning their necks to see her. The hat fell over her eyes.

"Hmm," a small voice said making her jump. "You're just as difficult to place as your sister. You could fit anywhere, perhaps Slytherin suits you?"

Rose gripped the stool in horror. All her life she had always been with Harri, there was never one without the other. But then again, was that what she wanted?

"Indeed, you desire to be with your sister, loyal as Helga was, but you also have a thirst for knowledge and want to be seen as a separate person. Ravenclaw would suit you well as would Slytherin." Rose made her choice and began chanting in her head, _Please let me be with Harri, please let me be with Harri._

"I see now that where you truly belong is GRYFFINDOR!"

The last part was shouted to the hall and the hall exploded into cheers. Rose saw Pansy and Draco looking disappointed clapping anyway.

Rose sat between Harri and Hermione Granger. Some of the older students shook her hand.

And now there were only three people left to be sorted. "Thomas, Dean," a black boy even taller than Harri's friend, joined the twins at the Gryffindor table.

"Turpin, Lisa," became a Ravenclaw and then it was Harri's friend, who was called Ron Weasley's turn. He was pale green by now.

Harri crossed her fingers under the table and a second later the hat had shouted, "GRYFFINDOR!"

Harri and Rose clapped loudly with the rest as Ron collapsed into the chair next to Harri.

"Well done, Ron, excellent," said Percy Weasley pompously across from the twins as Blaise was made a Slytherin. Professor McGonagall rolled up her scroll and took the Sorting Hat away.

Albus Dumbledore had gotten to his feet. He was beaming at the students, his arms opened wide, as if nothing could have pleased him more than to see them all there.

"Welcome," he said. "Welcome to a new year at Hogwarts! Before we begin our banquet, I would like to say a few words. And here they are: Nitwit! Blubber! Oddment! Tweak! Thank you!"

He sat back down. Everybody clapped and cheered. Rose didn't know whether to laugh or not.

"Is he — a bit mad?" Harri asked Percy uncertainly.

"Mad?" said Percy airily. "He's a genius! Best wizard in the world! But he is a bit mad, yes. Potatoes, Harriet?"

The twin's mouths fell open.

The dishes in front of them were now piled with food. They had never seen so many things they liked to eat on one table: roast beef, roast chicken, pork chops and lamb chops, sausages, bacon and steak, boiled potatoes, roast potatoes, fries, Yorkshire pudding, peas, carrots, gravy, ketchup, and, for some strange reason, peppermint humbugs.

The Dursleys had never exactly starved Harri and Rose, but they'd never been allowed to eat as much as they liked.

Dudley had always taken anything that the twins really wanted, even if it made him sick. Harri and Rose piled their plates with a bit of everything except the peppermints and began to eat. It was all delicious.

"That does look good," said the ghost in the ruff sadly, watching Harri cut up her steak.

"Can't you —?"

"I haven't eaten for nearly five hundred years," said the ghost. "I don't need to, of course, but one does miss it.

I don't think I've introduced myself? Sir Nicholas de Mimsy-Porpington at your service. Resident ghost of Gryffindor Tower."

"I know who you are!" said Ron suddenly. "My brothers told me about you — you're Nearly Headless Nick!"

"I would _prefer _you to call me Sir Nicholas de Mimsy —" the ghost began stiffly, but sandy-haired Seamus Finnigan interrupted.

"_Nearly _Headless? How can you be _nearly _headless?"

Sir Nicholas looked extremely miffed, as if their little chat wasn't going at all the way he wanted.

"Like _this_," he said irritably. He seized his left ear and pulled. His whole head swung off his neck and fell onto his shoulder as if it was on a hinge. Someone had obviously tried to behead him, but not done it properly.

Looking pleased at the stunned looks on their faces, Nearly Headless Nick flipped his head back onto his neck, coughed, and said, "So — new Gryffindors! I hope you're going to help us win the house championship this year? Gryffindors have never gone so long without winning. Slytherins have got the cup six years in a row! The Bloody Baron's becoming almost unbearable — he's the Slytherin ghost."

Harri looked over at the Slytherin table and saw a horrible ghost sitting there, with blank staring eyes, a gaunt face, and robes stained with silver blood. He was right next to Malfoy who, Harri was pleased to see, didn't look too pleased with the seating arrangements. Rose elbowed her sister.

"How did he get covered in blood?" asked Seamus with great interest.

"I've never asked," said Nearly Headless Nick delicately.

When everyone had eaten as much as they could, the remains of the food faded from the plates, leaving them sparkling clean as before. A moment later the desserts appeared. Blocks of ice cream in every flavour you could think of, apple pies, treacle tarts, chocolate éclairs and jam doughnuts, trifle, strawberries, Jell-O, rice pudding…

As Harri helped herself to a treacle tart and Rose spooned pudding onto her plate, the talk turned to their families.

"I'm half-and-half," said Seamus. "Me dad's a Muggle. Mom didn't tell him she was a witch 'til after they were married. Bit of a nasty shock for him."

The others laughed.

"What about you, Neville?" said Ron.

"Well, my gran brought me up and she's a witch," said Neville, "but the family thought I was all-Muggle for ages.

My Great Uncle Algie kept trying to catch me off my guard and force some magic out of me — he pushed me off the end of Blackpool pier once, I nearly drowned — but nothing happened until I was eight. Great Uncle Algie came round for dinner, and he was hanging me out of an upstairs window by the ankles when my Great Auntie Enid offered him a meringue and he accidentally let go. But I bounced — all the way down the garden and into the road. They were all really pleased, Gran was crying, she was so happy. And you should have seen their faces when I got in here — they thought I might not be magic enough to come, you see. Great Uncle Algie was so pleased he bought me my toad."

On Rose's other side, Percy Weasley and Hermione were talking about lessons ("I _do _hope they start right away, there's so much to learn, I'm particularly interested in Transfiguration, you know, turning something into something else, of course, it's supposed to be very difficult —"; "You'll be starting small, just matches into needles and that sort of thing — ").

Harri, who was starting to feel warm and sleepy, looked up at the High Table. Hagrid was drinking deeply from his goblet. Professor McGonagall was talking to Professor Dumbledore. Professor Quirrell, in his absurd turban, was talking to a teacher with greasy black hair, a hooked nose, and sallow skin.

Rose, meanwhile, was explaining the "Boy-Who-lived" thing to some very persistent second years.

It happened very suddenly. The hook-nosed teacher looked past Quirrell's turban straight into Harri's eyes — and a sharp, hot pain shot across the scars on Harri and Rose's foreheads.

"Ouch!" Harri clapped a hand to her head as Rose hissed in pain next to her.

"What is it?" asked Percy.

"N-nothing." Harri gasped out. Rose shared a look with her sister.

_~What in the world was that?~_ Rose asked.

_~No idea. Nothing like that has ever happened before~_

The pain had gone as quickly as it had come. Harder to shake off was the feeling Harri had gotten from the teacher's look – he had looked shocked then angry, he didn't seem to like her at all.

Who's that teacher talking to Professor Quirrell?" Harri asked Percy.

"Oh, you know Quirrell already, do you? No wonder he's looking so nervous, that's Professor Snape. He teaches Potions, but he doesn't want to — everyone knows he's after Quirrell's job. Knows an awful lot about the Dark Arts, Snape."

The twins watched Snape for a while, but Snape didn't look at them again.

At last, the desserts too disappeared, and Professor Dumbledore got to his feet again. The hall fell silent.

"Ahem — just a few more words now that we are all fed and watered. I have a few start-of-term notices to give you.

"First years should note that the forest on the grounds is forbidden to all pupils. And a few of our older students would do well to remember that as well."

Dumbledore's twinkling eyes flashed in the direction of the Weasley twins.

"I have also been asked by Mr. Filch, the caretaker, to remind you all that no magic should be used between classes in the corridors.

"Quidditch trials will be held in the second week of the term. Anyone interested in playing for their house teams should contact Madam Hooch.

"And finally, I must tell you that this year, the third-floor corridor on the right-hand side is out of bounds to everyone who does not wish to die a very painful death."

"He's not serious?" Rose muttered to Percy.

"Must be," said Percy, frowning at Dumbledore. "It's odd, because he usually gives us a reason why we're not allowed to go somewhere — the forest's full of dangerous beasts, everyone knows that. I do think he might have told us prefects, at least."

"And now, before we go to bed, let us sing the school song!" cried Dumbledore. Harri and Rose noticed that the other teachers had rather fixed smiles now.

Dumbledore gave his wand a little flick, as if he was trying to get a fly off the end, and a long golden ribbon flew out of it, which rose high above the tables and twisted itself, snakelike, into words.

"Everyone pick their favourite tune," said Dumbledore, "and off we go!"

And the school bellowed:

"_Hogwarts, Hogwarts, Hoggy Warty Hogwarts,_

_Teach us something please,_

_Whether we be old and bald_

_Or young with scabby knees,_

_Our heads could do with filling_

_With some interesting stuff,_

_For now they're bare and full of air,_

_Dead flies and bits of fluff,_

_So teach us things worth knowing,_

_Bring back what we've forgot,_

_just do your best, we'll do the rest,_

_And learn until our brains all rot."_

Everybody finished the song at different times. At last, only the Weasley twins were left singing along to a very slow funeral march. Dumbledore conducted their last few lines with his wand and when they had finished, he was one of those who clapped loudest.

"Ah, music," he said, wiping his eyes. "A magic beyond all we do here! And now, bedtime. Off you trot!"

The Gryffindor first years followed Percy through the chattering crowds, out of the Great Hall, and up the marble staircase. Harri's legs were like lead again, but only because she was so tired and full of food. Rose was keeping close to her sister, yawning every so often. They were too sleepy even to be surprised that the people in the portraits along the corridors whispered and pointed as they passed, or that twice Percy led them through doorways hidden behind sliding panels and hanging tapestries.

They climbed more staircases, yawning and dragging their feet, and Harri was just wondering how much farther they had to go when they came to a sudden halt.

A bundle of walking sticks was floating in midair ahead of them, and as Percy took a step toward them they started throwing themselves at him.

"Peeves," Percy whispered to the first years. "A poltergeist." He raised his voice, "Peeves — show yourself."

A loud, rude sound, like the air being let out of a balloon, answered.

"Do you want me to go to the Bloody Baron?"

There was a pop, and a little man with wicked, dark eyes and a wide mouth appeared, floating cross-legged in the air, clutching the walking sticks.

"Oooooooh!" he said, with an evil cackle. "Ickle Firsties! What fun!"

He swooped suddenly at them. They all ducked.

"Go away, Peeves, or the Baron'll hear about this, I mean it!" barked Percy.

Peeves stuck out his tongue and vanished, dropping the walking sticks on Neville's head.

They heard him zooming away, rattling coats of armour as he passed.

"You want to watch out for Peeves," said Percy, as they set off again. "The Bloody Baron's the only one who can control him, he won't even listen to us prefects. Here we are."

At the very end of the corridor hung a portrait of a very fat woman in a pink silk dress.

"Password?" she said.

"Caput Draconis," said Percy, and the portrait swung forward to reveal a round hole in the wall. They all scrambled through it — Neville needed a leg up — and found themselves in the Gryffindor common room, a cosy, round room full of squashy armchairs.

Percy directed the girls through one door to their dormitory and the boys through another. At the top of a spiral staircase — they were obviously in one of the towers — they found their beds at last: five four-posters hung with deep red, velvet curtains. Their trunks had already been brought up. Too tired to talk much, they pulled on their pyjamas and fell into bed. Rose found Merlin curled up on her pillow and smiled to herself lying down next to her cat.

Perhaps Rose had eaten a bit too much, because she had a very strange dream. She was wearing Professor Quirrell's turban, which kept talking to her, telling him she must transfer to Slytherin at once, because it was her destiny. Rose told the turban she didn't want to be in Slytherin; it got heavier and heavier; she tried to pull it off but it tightened painfully — and there was Draco, laughing at her as she struggled with it — then Draco turned into the hook-nosed teacher, Snape, whose laugh became high and cold — there was a burst of green light and Rose woke, sweating and shaking. Merlin had gone off somewhere else.

She saw Harri sitting up in a similar state. "Was that your dream?" Harri nodded, still shaking.

"Do you want to sleep with me, tonight?" Rose asked sensing the question that her sister was too proud to ask. Harri looked relieved and quickly crossed the gap over to Rose's bed.

The girls fell back asleep, cuddling one another. When they woke in the morning, they didn't remember the dream.

**AN: You see? I can do closeness. Just because Rose has a different choice in friends doesn't mean that she will end up in the same house as them. Besides last chapter was mainly just to make future things that happen in the plot possible.**

**I appriciate criticism just not the sort that upsets me. Please make it constructive not destructive.**

**Flames will be used for roasting marshmallows.**

**~Silver**


	7. Sorry

Hey guys, I'm really sorry about this but I've decided that for the time being this story is abandoned. It's not anyone's fault it's just I can't find inspiration for the next chapters. Any ideas I have aren't until the next few books and I keep having to copy directly from the book. It doesn't feel original anymore.

Thanks to everyone who has reviewed, favourited or followed this fanfic. I really appreciate it. I just can't keep doing this story for now. I apologise to anyone who was looking forward to the next chapter but it won't be posted for God knows how long.

I'm really sorry.

~Silver


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